A Storm is coming
by MrsLittletall
Summary: The Chosen Undead stumbles into the Dark Moon Tomb after having obtained the lord vessel, close to give up on their mission. But maybe he just needs a little bit of unexpected help? Why isn't Chosen Undead a choice in the character additon? Now I had to make them an OC, which they basically are, but still... Relationship: Chosen Undead/Dragon Slayer Ornstein
1. Chapter 1

(Author's note: A big thanks goes to tumblr user oreostein for inspiring me for the name of my Chosen Undead and the title of this story. A thanks to all who send me suggestions anyway.)

Ornstein had told Gwyndolin to take a rest.

Since he had escaped death after his battle with the Chosen Undead, suffering some severe injuries, Gwyndolin had taken care of him almost every waking minute. He could see how exhausted they started to become and since he was feeling better he had told them to go rest, he would be fine on his own for a few hours.

Ornstein just laid in his bed and stared at the ceiling. It must have been two or three weeks since he had woken up, confused on why he wasn't dead, having to face the horrible truth that the one most dear to him had died in this battle. And while Ornstein knew that his wounds would heal and only leave a few new scars, the wounds in his heart felt like they would never be able to close. He missed Smough, who had been his lover, every waking moment. The executioner had been one of the few people still near to him, one of the few who hadn't died and Ornstein couldn't help but blame himself. He had at least promised Gwyndolin that he would never let anything happen to them, they were the last one left in his life and he would rather die than letting something harmful happen to them.

So he froze when he heard that ominous sound of someone crossing the fog gate that Gwyndolin had put up in front of the Dark Moon Tomb. Ornstein didn't spent a second thought about it, he got out of the bed, grabbed for his spear that leaned next to his armour at the wall and staggered towards the hallway. He hadn't heard Gwyndolin talk to someone, they were surely still asleep. And he wouldn't let someone assassinate them under his watch.

The one they had called a Chosen Undead, but actually preferred to go by the name Tempest, had decided to enter the fog gate after he had kneeled before it for an absurdly long time. He had found this ring from a trip to the catacombs earlier and remembered some of the tales of the Dark Moon Blades. Maybe.. with this ring he should be able to meet Dark Sun Gwyndolin, who was said to be the last born of Gwyn and one of the remaining deities in Anor Londo.

So after he entered the fog gate, he was surprised to see a tall man standing there, dressed in some purple robes, long red hair into a braid, clutching a spear in his hands, looking very ready to stab him with it, but also... with the slumped position he was in and the bandages around his head, he looked like he had been hurt. Tempest decided to clutch his katana a bit tighter into his hands, he had been attacked without a warning far too often in this land.

"You... don't come another step closer.", the man hissed. "I won't let you lay a single finger on them."

Tempest cocked his head, opening the visor part of his elite knight helmet to take a closer look at the man. It was obvious that he was hurt and it seemed like it was quite bad. "Um, are you sure you are up for a fight?", he asked. "Cause... you, uh, look like you should stay in bed."

"Silence!", the man shouted. "Why should you have come to this place uninvited if not to try and assassinate them?" He clutched his spear tighter, the knuckles of his fingers turning white. Tempest stared at this spear and the man, both of them looked so awful familiar... Then it hit him like a brick.

"You... you are the dragon slayer! How the hell are you still alive?", he blurted out. With a shudder he remembered the battle against the famous dragon slayer and the brutal executioner. He had died again and again. Stabbed, smashed, electrocuted, impaled, squashed, stabbed again. It had taken him an awful long time to finally get the dragon slayer down and then the executioner had smashed his head under his hammer. How sturdy must the dragon slayer have been to survive such a blow?

"I don't know why I am still alive but you certainly weren't great help in that.", the dragon slayer quipped. "Now just back away and leave or do you want to have another round?"

Tempest relaxed. "I already beat you, remember?", he said. "Besides, I really don't want to fight you in this state. Actually, I don't want to fight at all. I just don't react very kindly when someone points the pointy end of a blade at me."

"Why should I believe anything you say?", the dragon slayer hissed.

Tempest sighed. "Look, we can fight if you want, but for me it just means another trip back to the bonfire, for you it could be the end for good."

The dragon slayer just stared at him, he looked baffled that this tiny Undead even assumed that he could kill him, even though Tempest kinda had done it before. Then, something unexpected happen. The dragon slayer muttered: "Oh no, not again.", clasped a hand before his mouth, staggered behind one of the pillars at the wall and then Tempus could hear very clear noises of him throwing up.

"Yeah, definitely not going to fight you like this.", he said one more time.

Ornstein was standing there, staring at the puddle, wiping his mouth. How absolutely embarrassing. Not only did that Undead not take him serious at all, now he also had shown how absolute weak he was at the moment. But his decision still stood strong, he wouldn't let him lay a single finger on Gwyndolin. So he froze when he felt someone laying a hand on his shoulder, half expecting it was the Undead, but feeling even more horrified when he actually noticed one of Gwyndolin's snakes on the floor.

"Go back to bed, Ornstein. I will handle this.", they said and turned to the Chosen Undead.

"Thou hast intruded into mine father's tomb, uninvited, thine intentions unclear. If it is thine desire to spill blood in this place, then thou shalt be punished, accordingly." They readied their catalyst, the spell to cast an illusion on the room already on their lips, when the Undead spoke up.

"Um, actually, I came hear to talk.", he said and a clatter implied that he threw his weapons on the ground. "I wanted to make it clear to your knight there.", he cocked his head in Ornstein's direction. "But I wasn't feeling comfortable letting go of my weapons when he pointed his spear at me."

"That is... unexpected.", Gwyndolin said. "What is it thou wish to talk about?"

Ornstein's jaw dropped when he heard Gwyndolin words. "Gwyndolin, you can't be serious.", he started, but Gwyndolin shushed him with a move of their hand.

"Let us at least hear what he has to say.", they whispered.

The Undead seemed to have relaxed a bit and kneeled in front of both of them: "Dark Sun Gwyndolin, I am very sorry, but I must inform you, that I can't complete the task assigned to me. I am close to give up and will go hollow soon."

(Author's note: English is not my first language and I am pretty sure I fucked up the old english, so if anyone of you sees any mistakes, please tell me, so that I can correct it.

I decided to post this chapter already, but this is pretty much all I have. I have an idea for the story and already kinda an ending in mind, but with my writing challenge and another WIP I want to prioritize, this thing will have unregular updates, so bear with me. I promise, that I will finish it, I just can't say how long it will take.)


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Ornstein listens in as the Chosen Undead tells the tale of his adventure so far.

Ornstein had laid down back in his bed, arm folding in front of his chest, carefully to not upset the wound on his chest. He was grumpily staring at the table where this so called Chosen Undead sat together with Gwyndolin, they even had placed a cup of tea in front of him, occasionally sipping at one of their own. Ornstein noticed a cup of tea for him out of the corner of his eyes on the night stand, probably his medicine, but he didn't want to take it yet. He didn't want to leave his eyes off the Undead, he still didn't trust him one bit.

The Chosen Undead had been talking for a while now... Ornstein decided to listen in, it wasn't like he had anything better to do.

"So after I finally made it through all that hollows in the Undead burg, suddenly a giant demon came jumping down from above and before I even knew it, I awoke at the bonfire. And had to go through this nightmare again.", he said. "I can't count how many times I awoke at this bonfire until I finally noticed that I could use the ladder there to my advantage. But one time I was too slow and that thing actually jumped up there and knocked me right off the tower. Dying like this really hurts, you know."

Ornstein could see how Gwyndolin's face turned into some kind of pained smile, as if they were feeling really uncomfortable. He balled his fists under the blanket. How could this human even think about making Gwyndolin feel bad?

"I managed eventually, but only to get burned to a crisp by a freaking drake. Wasn't it his job to get rid of them?" The Undead pointed at Ornstein.

"I was fighting dragons for your interest.", Ornstein immediately said. "Dealing with drakes really isn't any trouble at all, anyone even remotely talented in fighting should be able to do that." It was unbelievable that he lost to a human who hasn't even been able to kill a mere drake.

"Well, maybe you are more skilled and used to fight things that can fly and breath fire and are like ten times my size.", the Undead blurted out.

Ornstein already had a quip on his lips, but was interrupted by Gwyndolin.

"Would you please not start to fight and would you just continue your story?", they asked. They had dropped the ancient speak of the gods after the Undead had said that he nearly didn't had a clue what they were trying to say. Another hint of how pathetic he actually was.

"Sorry. So, I managed it to make it beyond the drake eventually and then there were hollows again, so many hollows... I still don't know how I actually made it through them. When I found a way back to Fire Link Shrine, that felt like finding a oasis in the desert. Or it must have felt like it, I am pretty sure I have never been to a desert before." A nervous laugh sounded.

"And.. and then? A Gargoyle. Which wasn't even that bad, if you don't take the fact in account the battle took place hundreds of meters above the ground on a roof. Actually quite manageable... until the second one showed up! Didn't you think one beast was enough to guard the bell? Why did it have to be two? It took me days to get past them!"

"Come on, the gargoyles attack in very predictable patterns and one of them breathes fire a lot, which gives you a perfect attack window. These two are hardly a challenge.", Ornstein commented from his bed.

The head of the Undead jerked in his direction, Ornstein had the feeling he was glaring at him, but he was too far away to actually see the face, which was still framed by the helmet, only the visor was up. At least the Undead seemed to have turned into a human form, it would have been awfully rude to step in front of Gwyndolin in his hollowed out form.

"Oh, where was I? Ah yes, after the Gargoyles I first hadn't a clue where to go. And even the other Undead hanging around Fire Link Shrine weren't of any help. One of them was more interested in me telling to hunt down other Undead for humanity, made me kinda regret I unlocked him from the cell. And that strange crestfallen guy only seemed to be mad cause I rang the first bell. I then finally found a door that would unlock with a key I found in the parish. It only let me to the worst mauling of two dogs and a goat like demon I have ever witnessed." The Undead took a sip from his tea. "I probably don't have to mention that it hurt. A lot."

"The demons weren't our fault.", Ornstein whispered. "They kinda ran wild after everything went to shit out there."

"Ornstein has a point there.", Gwyndolin said. "They really are just natural predators. Even I didn't knew they wandered that far from Lost Izalith..."

"It's because the black knights aren't there anymore.", Ornstein commented and fell silent again, awaiting the next part of the story.

"Anyway.", the Undead said, taking a deep breath. "That demon had the key for the Depths for some strange reason. It was said that the second bell is down below, so going to the Depths was my best best. At this rate, I was slowly getting used fighting hollows, but having to wade through this hole of human waste wasn't enjoyable, even as an Undead I could smell the rot of that place." Another deep breath. "And this place was a labyrinth. Wasn't that bad until I fell down a hole and was faced with basilisks. And everyone knows the horrors of being cursed. I am glad I made it out there before they were able to put their curse on me. I would have been finished otherwise."

"There are basilisk's in the depth? That doesn't sound right.", Gwyndolin said. "They live in a place far more down below."

"Well, maybe they wandered or something, what do I know?", the Undead proceeded his story. "But this time I found a real dragon in this place. Are you really sure you were doing your job right, sir?", the last word was said in some kind of mocking manner, that made Ornstein fume inside.

"Well, as far as I knew there weren't any dragons left! I would of course have gone and slay them if I had known about it. But hey, great job at slaying it yourself, Chosen Undead.", he tried to put a feeling of spite around every syllable, but especially the last two words.

"I think there has been something wrong with this dragon anyway, it's body was kinda this huuuuge mouth, looked like stuff from nightmares.", the Undead mumbled, completely ignoring Ornstein's last words. "It had swallowed the key to the Blighttown. Luckily it had spat it out when it died, I hadn't been really fond searching for the key in that thing. If it would have even occurred to me. I mean, how mad must someone be to search for a key in a huge dragon with a gaping mouth on his chest?"

"Oh, I don't know, you were mad enough to leave the asylum.", Ornstein said, grinning. The Undead shot him another glare.

"Would you stop this bickering already?", Gwyndolin hissed. "I want to hear the rest of the story and come to a conclusion."

"Sorry Gwyndolin.", Ornstein whispered, but didn't take his eyes off the Undead.

"When I thought what I had to get through this far had been bad, the part that came next was even worse.", the Undead said. "I mean, we all heard the reasons why it was called Blighttown and I was never very keen to go down there, but I had to and it was... my worst nightmare. I spend several weeks there, sometimes not even able to take more a few steps away from the bonfire. I was sure I would hollow down there, but then I made an effort and made it to the bottom. Where I died of poisoning. Even just walking around in the swamp was poisoning my body. And I thought the stench of the depths had been bad."

"Well yes, that place was locked for a reason.", Gwyndolin said and that uncomfortable smile flashed over their face again.

"I managed to make it through and at the end there was this giant spider lady with a flaming sword. That was quite a shock. I mean, it was kinda nice seeing her upper part but as soon as the bottom part started..."

Both Ornstein and Gwyndolin stared in disbelief at the Undead. Ornstein was the one who spoke first: "Quelaag? But what was she doing there? She and her sisters were tasked with looking after Lost Izalith, she shouldn't be in Blighttown."

"Yes, indeed, that is strange...", Gwyndolin muttered. "I am pretty sure I had set up another golem there, reminiscent of the demons spawning from Lost Izalith..."

"So Quelaag is dead?", Ornstein asked. He remembered the witches of Izalith vividly, they often would have visited the cathedral and have been a great force in the dragon war with their pyromancy.

The Undead nodded. "Well, she came after me with a sword and her spider body was puking lava, you bet I was fighting against getting cooked alive.", he said. "But why did you say sisters? There was only one other lady like her and she seemed to be really sick. She was the fire keeper of that place."

"Two have died when the flame incident happened...", Gwyndolin said, "But the others were alive and tasked with keeping an eye on Lost Izalith, mainly helping keeping the demons in check. No wonder they could wander so far when nobody was keeping them at bay anymore... What where Quelaag, Quelaan, Quelana, Quelaria and Quelaxis doing?"

The Chosen Undead clutched his tea cup between his hands and stared from Gwyndolin to Ornstein to Gwyndolin again. "Wait... you didn't knew that? When was the last time you left this city?", he asked.

Ornstein and Gwyndolin glanced at each other. "It has been a while.", they said.

"Well, I have been tasked with looking over the cathedral so I barely left it the last hundred years.", Ornstein muttered, more to himself.

"... Maybe you should put a bit more emphasis on the world outside of this town.", the Undead muttered, clearly intending that no one of them should hear it, but it didn't escape Ornstein's ears.

"So, what happened after you rang the second bell?", Gwyndolin asked.

"I went back to Fire Link Shine first and that was where the first thing happened, that made me feel hopeless...", the Undead said. "The fire was out, I found the corpse of the fire keeper in her cell and all evidence pointed that the man in the strange golden armour did it..."

Gwyndolin huffed. "Killing a fire keeper is a huge crime. I am sure the dark moon blades were on his track immediately.", they said.

"I am not too sure...", the Undead said. "I found him in a different place much later. Anyway, I wanted to move on and the big gate next to the Parish had opened up. Earlier there had been this knight in the onion armour sitting before it, but he was gone. I felt a bit worried and stepped into that fortress only to be impaled by three arrows.", the Undead continued.

"Onion shaped armour? Must have been Catarina.", Ornstein mentioned and then his face split into a grin. "And you are really an idiot if you ran into this obvious trap right away." Ornstein started to relax and grabbed for the cup with his medicine. He didn't had to worry about this incompetent idiot anymore. How did he even make it this far? Must have been poor luck. He zoned out a bit while the Undead told the story about Sen's Fortress, a smile crossing his lips every time the Undead told about running into another obvious trap and he only started to listen intensely again, when the Undead started to talk about Anor Londo.

"And which idea was it to put archer's on that rafters? I completely lost count how many times I was knocked of that roof..."

"32 times.", Ornstein said and then he could feel the gaze of the Undead practically piercing through him.

"Don't tell me you counted that."

"Waiting in that cathedral can be boring, alright?", Ornstein snapped and put his attention back on his tea cup, which he spun in his hands. Counting the times the Undead's fell off the roof had been one of his and Smough's favourite activity. Thinking about his deceased partner hurt greatly though and he stopped spinning the cup, just staring into it instead.

"Oh well.", the Undead said. "After 32 times I finally managed to get past them and the rest of the cathedral felt like, really doable to be honest. I think I finally was getting a grip on this parry thing, that helped with the silver knights."

"They were always too easy to parry.", Ornstein mentioned. "I showed them time and time again... ", Ornstein perfectly knew that this silver knights weren't real anyway, they were just reaminated armour, filled with Gwyndolin's illusionary magic which made them remember how to fight. The last real silver knights had left the cathedral a long time ago.

"And then... well, he and his partner happened.", the Chosen Undead said, pointing at Ornstein once again.

"And I really thought I wouldn't be able to beat them. At first I tried to get the executioner down, but with him around." Another pointed finger at Ornstein, who slowly grew annoyed at this. "It felt pretty much impossible. Lightning bolts from behind, a jumping attack or – and that was the worst – him crossing the whole room in a second stabbing me from behind."

Ornstein grinned. "That was fun.", he said and took the last sip of his medicinal tea.

"Well, eventually I changed my tactic and started to concentrate on the dragon slayer first.", the Undead said.

"I have a name, you know.", Ornstein whispered, too quiet to be heard.

"And it started to work... It took me a long time, I am sure it had been a month or longer, but one day I managed to bring him down. And then the executioner crushed his head." He glanced at Ornstein. "Still don't get how you could survive that."

 _I wish I hadn't._ Ornstein thought.

"Well, the executioner gained some sick lightning powers, but nothing much changed after that. With the last of my Estus I was able to strike him down and then the Princess gave me the lordvessel."

Ornstein's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Smough's death. The Undead couldn't have known how much it hurt him... that was basically Smough's murdered sitting there. Even though they had been fully aware and Ornstein even had expected them to die there, he couldn't help but hold a grudge.

"So why are you here now?", Gwyndolin asked. "You have surpassed Anor Londo and even beat the guardian's of the cathedral, that proves that you are strong enough to take on the four lords."

"It is...", the Undead sighed. "At first I felt ecstatic, but... remember the knight who killed the fire keeper? I found him in Anor Londo, I could invade into his space with some eye orb... and he did put up a really good fight. I managed to win after countless tries, but after I got back I found his armour and it kind of... made me feel uneasy. This guy only tried to serve his goddess and thought he was doing the right thing..."

The Undead sighed heavily: "I felt a bit at a loss and made a trip to the sunlight altar to pray and there was Solaire, but he wasn't jolly as usual but rather sad... That just felt so wrong."

"Solaire, who is that?", Gwyndolin asked.

"Judging from the name and location probably one of the master's sunlight warrior's.", Ornstein said. He started to feel drowsy. Side effect of the medicine.

"Ornstein, you know our laws.", Gwyndolin reminded him.

"I haven't said his name.", Ornstein murmured.

The Chosen Undead just sat there, baffled. "Wait.. you … know him? The sunfirstborn? Whose name was lost to time?"

"We are not speaking about him here.", Gwyndolin said.

"It is for the better, honestly.", Ornstein said, staring at the wall.

"Oh, alright...", the Undead said. "Last there was this crestfallen warrior guy. He suddenly had disappeared from the Fire Link Shrine. I thought he would have finally moved on, but I found him when I tried to enter New Londo... he was hollow and I had to slay him." His gaze was locked on the table. "And that is when I started to doubt. For now, seeing all these others struggle and facing the same hardship as me helped me going on, but seeing them all having given up or even worse things..." He swallowed, it seemed apparent how hard it was for him to admit it.

"I am terribly afraid of the next death. What will happen if I give up after this too? I fear I can't fulfil the mission you gave me.", the Undead finished with a last shaky breath.

"So.", Gwyndolin said. "What you are saying is, that you just need a little bit of support on your journey?"

They glanced over to Ornstein. "Well then, I think I know the right man for this task. He hasn't anything to do right now anyway. Isn't that right, Ornstein?" Their smile was sickeningly sweet.

Ornstein needed a moment to process their words in his drowsy statue. The Undead seemed to need a moment to. Then they both jerked up and shouted in unison: "You can't be serious."

(Author's note: For anyone wondering why Ornstein relaxes midway through and don't think Tempest is a threat anymore, it is, because he easily trusts Gwyndolin to kill him with ease and because he was saying that he would go hollow soon, Ornstein believes that he wouldn't come back after even one death. Also Ornstein, you aren't even interested in the Undead's name? How rude!)


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: Tempest and Ornstein aren't happy with Gwyndolin's decision. But it seems they don't have a choice.

(Author's note: Woah, sorry that this chapter took me so long. I was focusing very hard on another WIP and then on a writing challenge, so that this story got postponed and postponed again. I finally managed to write a chapter that I am satisfied with and I hope you enjoy.)

The dragon slayer was the first to talk.

"I can't.", he said. "I am hurt."

Dark Sun Gwyndolin huffed at him: "Ornstein, we have waited for centuries, we surely can wait a few weeks more." They shifted their attention to Tempest: "Or will you go hollow by waiting alone?"

"...No, that not...", Tempest said. "But... are you serious? I was asking to give the mission to another Undead. There is one that would be perfect for this task, I know he could do it with ease. So, um.. I don't really get why you want me to carry on, with him in tow," Tempest pointed at the dragon slayer, "when the next death could be my last."

"You think I will be in your tow?", the knight sneered. "Be assured, if we really have to go through with this, you will be the one in MY tow."

Tempest stepped closer to the bed, in a fit of anger: "I am the Chosen Undead. And I already beat you. Besides, who said that I wanted to team up..." He got interrupted by the soft sound of rhythmical breathing. "He's asleep.", Tempest noticed, staring at the frame of the dragon slayer.

"It's the medicine, it makes him sleepy.", the dark sun said. "I haven't asked your name yet."

"Oh, uh, it is Tempest, like the storm.", the Chosen Undead said and shifted his attention on the Dark Sun. "I ask once again, you are sure about this? You think him and I should team up? He killed me a dozen times, you know."

"Well, you will have some time to get to know each other, cause Ornstein clearly needs to heal up first.", the dark sun said. "Also, you have obtained the lord vessel, that proves that you are worthy. You even managed to find out about this place. I don't think you are as weak as you think.", they added.

"I don't know.. it all feels so pointless.", Tempest said. "I think I am just sick and tired of dying over and over again without really dying."

"Well, then I guess it is fine for you to take a little break too.", the dark sun said. "But if you want to stay here, it would be nice if you could help around a bit. A good thing to start with would cleaning the puddle in the hallway you came in."

Tempest was a bit confused: "What puddle?", he asked, then it hit him. "Oh, that puddle..." He pawed the ground with his feet. "I guess that was kinda my fault somehow... when you stretch it."

The dark sun raised a catalyst and Tempest instantly braced himself, but relaxed when he saw them conjuring up a bucket and a mop. They also instructed him to a nearby well and once he had grabbed the surprisingly solid made up items, Tempest was off.

As soon as the Undead was out of sight, Gwyndolin nudged Ornstein. "Ornstein, wake up for a moment.", they demanded.

The dragon slayer sleepily opened his eyes. "Huh, what is it?", he asked. He pulled himself up slowly and looked around. "Where's the idiot?"

"I have send him out, cause we need to talk.", Gwyndolin said.

Ornstein groaned. "Gwyndolin, do I really have to do this?", he asked. "I can already see myself having to save this idiot out of all kind of totally obvious traps and what the likes."

"Ornstein, like I said earlier, we have waited centuries for this moment.", Gwyndolin sighed. "We have come so close. Finally someone managed to obtain the lord vessel. And then they stumble in here, ready to give up. I don't want to have so worked hard for nothing to achieve. I haven't put you and Smough through this hell for this."

Ornstein winced at the sound of the executioner's name, averting his gaze from Gwyndolin and staring at the wall.

"I am sorry...", Gwyndolin said. "That was too soon."

"Do you really think this is a good idea, Gwyndolin?", Ornstein asked, gently rubbing at his right temple to fight an oncoming headache, only to feel the thick gaze of the bandages wrapped around his head.

"...It is the only one I have. Ornstein... I know you have been sick and tired from guarding that empty cathedral for so long. And I know you never expected to come back alive out of this and I am so thankful, that you even were willing to give your life for this cause, being loyal to the end. So, please, this is the last thing I will ever ask from you. Make sure that this Undead links the flame and then you are free to go wherever you want.", Gwyndolin said.

Ornstein had perked up when Gwyndolin spoke. "...Fine, I'll do it then. But I don't do it because I want to and I doubt that I will ever be able to like this idiot.", he said. "I'll do it for you and Anor Londo. Consider this my last task as a knight of Gwyn."

"That's the spirit.", Gwyndolin said. "And, um, Ornstein? If you ever happen to find my brother or my sister, tell them I miss them..."

Ornstein grinned at Gwyndolin: "You already seem to have an idea what I was planning to do, huh? I promise." He yawned. "But now I think I want to go back to sleep..." Shortly after saying that, the knight had drifted back into his slumber.

Tempest stood in the hallway, bucket filled up with water in the left hand, mop in the right hand, staring at the puddle of vomit. "Man, that thing is large.", he murmured to himself. "At least only seems to be oatmeal or something, easy to clean up." He put the bucket down, wetted the mob and began the cleaning. In his earlier life he probably would have been repulsed by this, but he had seen far worse things on this journey so far, especially in Blighttown.

"I just hope they won't expect from me to be nothing than their cleaning boy.", he started to talk to himself. "Hm, but could be better than being a dark moon blade. That sounds scary..."

He stopped in the middle of his cleaning motion, scolding himself: "Tempest, stop talking to yourself, that is weird."

He finished cleaning the spot, went to empty the bucket out and returned to the room in the dark moon tomb. Dark Sun Gwyndolin was looking up when they heard his footsteps.

"Are you done with the task? Good.", they said, raised their catalyst and the cleaning supplies in Tempest's hand poofed into nothingness.

"Oh yikes, I am glad I already emptied that out.", he said. "So, uh, do you want me to do another thing for you?"

"Yes, watch over Ornstein.", the dark sun said.

"...Wait, what?", Tempest had a hard time believing what he just had heard.

"I have taken care of him for quite some time now and I am only one person. I need some time to recharge. Watch over him for me for a few hours.", they stood up and stretched.

"But... what do I do when he wakes up?", Tempest asked.

"Just do whatever he wants.", Gwyndolin said, already wiggling away. Tempest watched them vanish into another room.

"Well, great.", he said and leaned against a wall when they had gone out of sight. At last the dragon slayer was asleep for now, so at least they didn't had to interact. Tempest decided to look around in the room.

It was a room they had entered from the end of the hallway, which had led to the very large coffin of Gwyn, the lord of sunlight. Tempest remembered that it was said that Gwyn wasn't even in this coffin, the tomb was erected more out of honour for their departed lord. And that snake had said something like that Tempest should be the one to succeed Lord Gwyn and take his throne. The dark sun and the dragon slayer knew the lord, right? Maybe he should ask them some questions...

The room he had been led into wasn't very big. There had been a single bed in it where the dragon slayer had laid down in. There was a round table with three chairs around it, he still could spot the tea cups they had drank out of earlier this day. There was a desk with some writing materials, a pot of ink, a quill, some books... In a corner of the room there was the armour of the dragon slayer. Tempest took a few steps toward it to get a closer look.

It looked as majestic as when the dragon slayer had worn it, but also old, as if it had been centuries since someone had smithed it. That probably was the case, Tempest thought. He had fought in the dragon war, right? That is why he was called the dragon slayer in the first place. He could see some slashes and dent in the armour, with a particular bad one in the helmet, must have been the impact of the executioner's hammer. And then, the weapon. The spear that had thrusted through him this many times, laid on the leggings of the golden armour. Tempest bowed down and picked it up, or more tried to pick it up, that thing was HEAVY. He needed both hands to only lift it and even then it felt like an impossible task to swing it. "And he was swinging that thing with one hand.", Tempest murmured to himself, lowering the spear back down, walking to the bed the dragon slayer currently occupied.

There was a chair next to the bed, it looked like it had been simply removed from the table, cause there was still room for one chair more. Next to the bed was a night stand, on it was an empty cup of tea and a jar with some water. Also, there was a bucket standing next to the bed. Tempest wondered if it was meant for the dragon slayer's bodily functions. Did he even need to do that? That guys weren't human as far as he knew. But when he was able to vomit, that probably meant that he had to eat and that would mean... Tempest shook the thought aside, he didn't want to think about it right now. Instead he took a closer look at the sleeping dragon slayer.

By the lords, he was so HUGE. Tempest knew that there had to be a person under that armour, but he didn't expect the person to be as tall as the armour, even though it made sense in hindsight. It was just... when he wore that armour, it seemed natural to him that the dragon slayer would tower over himself like this, now that he was lying in the bed, he looked like someone who was seriously overgrown. He watched the dragon slayer over carefully. He had a pretty pale skin and was dressed in a purple robe with long sleeves. The features in his face looked surprisingly soft. His eyebrows had kind of a sharp angle to it, but his nose and mouth weren't really pronounced. His eyes were closed right now, so he couldn't make out the colour or shape, but it appeared that they seemed to be pretty large. But what was the most remarking thing about the dragon slayer, was the hair sprouting from his head.

Red as blood, tied into a braid, went it down to his hips, loosely laying on the bed. From the bangs, that got down to his chin and the end of the braid, it appeared that this hair was immensely curly. And Tempest also got a reminder, where he had seen that colour and curls before... it looked exactly like the plume on the armour of the dragon slayer. Tempest turned around to take a look at the plume off the armour, only to see that it wasn't there. The helmet didn't possess a plume at all.

"Wait a minute, does that mean it has been your hair all along?", Tempest said and bowed above the sleeping dragon slayer, to take a closer look at the braid. Suddenly, he got immensely curious how it felt like. He extended a hand, but quickly withdrew it again as if burned, but then extended it again. "I mean, you are asleep, right?", he whispered. "I am sure you don't mind..." and grabbed the braid. It was... surprisingly soft. He couldn't help but start to trail along the braid, following every curl and he grew more and more fascinated by it. He was thinking about unbraiding it, see how it looked in all its loose glory, when a hand shot up and pinned his arm in its grab.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?", the dragon slayer asked, glaring at him with an emerald flash in his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: Tempest and Ornstein have some kind of talk. Gwyndolin takes care of Ornstein.

(Author's note: I will admit it right away, writing these parts is difficult. The characters are extremely stubborn, especially Ornstein, and I feel like I have to bend and twist with them so that they act in favour of the story. Please stay with these dorks, I promise they will get better.)

Tempest squeaked in surprise and tried to withdraw his arm, but the grip of the dragon slayer was too strong and he couldn't move a single inch. His hand was still clutching the braid.

"Don't ever think about touching me again.", the dragon slayer growled.

"I am sorry.", Tempest squealed. "Would you let me go? You are hurting me."

"First let go of my hair.", the knight said and jerked up. Then he suddenly let go of Tempest arm, murmuring "Mistake...", clasped a hand over his mouth and Tempest instantly knew what the bucket was for and handed it to the dragon slayer just in time before he could soil his blankets. Tempest stepped a few steps back from the bed, releasing the braid, asking himself if he should have hold it nonetheless as he watched the dragon slayer noisily puking into the bucket.

When the dragon slayer was finished, he was fumbling for the jar of water on the night stand and used it to clean out his mouth. He then carefully laid back in the pillows, glaring at Tempest.

"This is your fault.", he said.

"I thought you wouldn't wake up.", Tempest said, staring anywhere but into the eyes of the knight.

"How couldn't I wake up when you were so close to me and touching me without my consent?", the dragon slayer asked. "What were you thinking?"

"...I wanted to know how it feels like...", Tempest said. "It looked so soft."

"You could have at least asked first."

"Would you have allowed it then?"

"No." The dragon slayer crossed his arms in front of his chest, grumbling a bit, then unfolded them again as if the position had been uncomfortable. "Where's Gwyndolin?", he asked.

"They asked me to watch over you while they rested.", Tempest truthfully said.

"Great, so they left me alone with the idiot?", the dragon slayer murmured.

"I have a name, you know.", Tempest said.

"Don't care, idiot will suffice for now." The dragon slayer had a sardonically grin on his face.

"Well then, dragon slayer.", Tempest said, putting as much coldness in the last words as possible, and sat down on the chair, feeling the glare off the dragon slayer still on him. Well, that felt uncomfortable. It felt like Tempest should do or say anything, getting some small talk started, so that this awkward silence between them would cease.

"So, how was it feeling like having to guard the cathedral for around a hundred years with a cannibalistic brute?", he asked in as much of a casual tone as possible.

Tempest started to suggest this question had been a mistake, when he didn't get an answer right away. He slowly turned his head to look at the dragon slayer and was greeted by a face which was hardly able to contain the fury of its owner.

"Leave.", the dragon slayer said between clenched teeth. Tempest shot up, the chair falling down in the process. His gaze fell on the bucket.

"I, uh, I think I will clean this up.", he said and quickly ran out of the room.

When Tempest returned to the room, the dragon slayer had laid back down in the pillows, but was still awake. Tempest placed the bucket next to the bed, raised the chair and tiptoed away, sitting down at one of the chairs at the table, at a reasonable distance of the knight.

"I think I told you to leave.", the dragon slayer said coldly.

"Look, I am sorry.", Tempest said. "I have said something wrong. But the dark sun wants me to watch over you, so I can't leave. I won't talk to you anymore, I promise."

He heard a deep sigh coming from the dragon slayer. "We need to talk when I am supposed to help you out.", he said. "Why do you think that what you have said was wrong?"

"Uh, because you clearly were upset about it?"

"You called him a brute."

Who? Oh, he was talking about the executioner. Wait a moment... from every story he had heard, it always had been said that Ornstein, the dragon slayer and Smough, the executioner hated each other. Smough, because he had never been granted knighthood and Ornstein, because he despised the cannibalistic ways of the executioner.

"...Was that, like, a misconception?", Tempest asked.

"Smough was so much more then what people depicted him as.", the dragon slayer started. "He was kind, understanding, soft, cute and... the light of my life." He clenched his fists. "And then you came along and killed him.", he hissed. "And you failed to kill me. This is unforgivable."

Tempest blinked once, then twice, then shot up. "Wait, WHAT?", he shouted. "You and Smough were like, a COUPLE?" He could hardly believe his own ears. He would blame it on feeling hollowed out, but right now Tempest was in his human form and his ears were working amazingly well.

"Yes.", the dragon slayer just answered. "So I guess now you'll know why I reacted this way. If I just would have been able to follow him..."

Tempest sat down again: "I am sorry, I had no idea..." The rest of the words was lost when he tried to make sense of all of this.

So, Ornstein, the dragon slayer, and Smough, the executioner, had loved each other. And he supposed they had been happy with each other, as happy as possible living in a dying city at last. And then Tempest had come along and killed one of them. By the lord, would that have happened to him, he would be pissed and devastated too. And nonetheless, the dark sun was expecting them to work with each other? Tempest put his head on the table and sighed. What had he gotten himself into? Should he try and apologize for this? What good would this do? As he was still pondering his option, the dark sun came back into the room.

"Oh, Ornstein, you are awake. How about some food?", they asked. They noticed Tempest sitting at the table. "Are you two getting along?", they asked.

Tempest was in the process to open his mouth but closed it again, unsure about what to say, when the dragon slayer spoke: "Don't worry, we will manage." Tempest saw him smile at the Dark Sun, but it felt kinda pained. Tempest just raised his hand in a thumbs up gesture.

"Some food would be fine, but nothing to heavy.", the dragon slayer said. Tempest almost offered his help at cooking the meal, but the Dark Sun vanished quickly, muttering "Let's see what I can do."

Tempest sighed and strolled over to the bed, sitting down on the chair.

"I am sorry.", he said. "But in my defense, I didn't knew you weren't dead. I thought after the executioner had crushed you, you would be gone for good."

Tempest could feel the glare of the dragon slayer on him. "And it didn't occur to you to check if maybe the job needed to be finished? Aren't you an elite knight of Astora?" He gestured at Tempest's armour.

Tempest looked down at him, straightening the blue tabard. "Oh, this? It isn't my armour. I picked it up in the Dark Root Garden, it was laying around there on a corpse. I am from Astora, but I never have been a knight. I just couldn't resist putting this thing on, wearing that armour is pretty much every young Astoran's dream.", he explained.

"Oh...", the dragon slayer said. "I should have figured this out on my own. Still...", the eyes of the dragon slayer pretty much pierced into Tempest. "I resent that you didn't check and left me to bleed out and to... survive..." The knight averted his gaze from Tempest and stared at the wall instead.

"I am sorry.", Tempest said again, not knowing what else to say.

"Apologizing won't help.", the dragon slayer murmured. "Just let me heal up, try to stay out of my sight and let us get this done as quickly as possible."

Tempest considered their talk to be over and retreated to the table. A few minutes later the Dark Sun came with a bowl of steaming oatmeal and handed it to the dragon slayer. Tempest watched them sit down next to the dragon slayer and keeping him company while eating. Tempest in the meantime, wondered if he would be able to taste the oatmeal now that he had regained his human form for the moment? Since he had become undead, he didn't had experienced any hunger and when he tried to eat something, it tasted like nothing, but that had been in his hollowed out form. Usually, drinking estus was all he needed. It was also a thing he could taste, even though it pretty much tasted like something had put fire and ashes into a bottle. With nothing better to do, Tempest grabbed for the emerald flask at his belt and inspected the liquid inside. What really was it? It got filled up whenever he touched a bonfire, so was it like, liquid bonfire? His thoughts got interrupted when he heard the Dark Sun say:

"It is time to change your bandages, Ornstein."

With the estus flask still in hand, Tempest rushed over to the bed. "Wait a moment.", he said, excitedly waving around the bottle. "Why can't we use my estus? It heals any wound in seconds." His excitement abated when he felt both the gaze of the dragon slayer and the dark sun on him.

"Idiot, that stuff doesn't work on us. It is an Undead thing.", the lion knight said.

"Oh...", Tempest said and then perked up again. "But, what about miracles? That is a god thing, right?"

"When my sister still would be here...", the dark sun said. "I am not very skilled in them, my field has always been moonlight magic."

"Crap..", Tempest said and took a few steps away from the bed. "Sorry, I just wanted to help."

"Well, I wanted to change Ornstein's bandages now, you can help by getting his hair out of the way.", the dark sun said. Both Tempest and the dragon slayer froze.

"I... don't think that is a good idea...", Tempest stammered.

"Yeah...", the dragon slayer added. "I don't want him to touch me. It makes me uncomfortable."

"Oh, I should have figured, I am sorry for being so tactless, Ornstein.", the dark sun said. "But like, feel free to stay here, maybe you learn a thing or two about bandaging wounds. Are you fine with this Ornstein?"

"Ugh, alright.", the dragon slayer said and Tempest went around to stay at the foot of the bed, inspecting the work of the dark sun.

They started with the bandage around the dragon slayer's head and as soon as it was off, Tempest had to gasp at how bad this wound looked, terribly swollen and bruised along a laceration which had been stitched. It was no wonder the dragon slayer was feeling sick with that, his brain probably had gotten a good shaking. Tempest once more wondered how in the world he had manage to survive this blow? Tempest never had been able to survive a blow with the hammer when he already had been hurt. He watched the dark sun carefully cleaning the wound, making the dragon slayer wince, it surely must had hurt, before applying a fresh bandage. The next thing that happened, was the dragon slayer undressing himself and as soon as Tempest realized that, he turned red under his helmet, averting his gaze, asking himself why he did that, why he felt like that and forced himself to look back.

A slight disappointment and a bit of guilt washed over Tempest when he saw the chest of the dragon slayer wrapped in thick bandages. Both legs too, Tempest remembered that they had been a main focus for him, first because the dragon slayer was twice his size and second to rob him of his mobility. The dark sun was changing the bandages on the legs first, but Tempest was more distracted by the countless scars on the dragon slayer's body, a lot of them clearly burns, a particular large one seemed to adorn the left side of his body, probably even going down the back, but he couldn't see it from his position.

"Don't stare at me like that.", the dragon slayer hissed, face slightly flushed, and Tempest muttered a quick apology, focusing on the work of the dark sun. Most of the cuts on the legs were already healing good, but one or two were also stitched and it explained why the dragon slayer had stand on so shaky legs when he had first encountered him in the hallway in front of the tomb.

Now that both legs had wrapped into fresh bandages, the dark sun started to unwrap the one on his chest. Tempest did hold in a breath when he saw the large wound, the one he had inflicted, the one that had made the dragon slayer collapse, but exhaled sharply when he saw the big bare chest which was originally covered by the bandages. It was built so well, probably a result from endless battle, but for some reason, it also gave some soft vibes. An urge to touch it washed through Tempest and he quickly had to avert his gaze, after how badly the dragon slayer had reacted to getting touched at his hair, Tempest didn't want to know his reaction when he would touch his bare chest. Especially when the latter wasn't asleep.

Tempest face flushed and he felt a certain hotness rise in his head. Oh no, did he found the dragon slayer to be hot? A guy who could crush him easily with his size and in fact did crush him several times in a fight to the death? Tempest could barely believe this and just muttered "I have to get out of here.", before rushing out of the room, the hotness in his head feeling like it would spill out any moment. Outside of the tomb he removed his helmet, put his hand against his nose and saw the blood dripping on his gauntlet.

"Oh great.", Tempest said, leaning against the wall, fumbling for his Estus to take care of his nosebleed. "He doesn't even like you, you fool, and you already are attracted to him..."


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: Ornstein heals up. It is time to go on the journey. But first: Some preparations!

(Author's note: Damn, I've got over 40 kudos over on AO3 for this and I haven't even gotten to the action! Did you all like this fic so much? Well, I have a surprise for you, it is a nice, long chapter which moves things forward! Enjoy!)

The next few days the atmosphere between Ornstein and the idiot was what he would describe as awkward. Ornstein still needed to heal up and why his injuries weren't life threatening anymore, Gwyndolin assumed that they still would need two to three weeks to fully heal up and of course Ornstein should stay in bed to assure that they didn't open up again. He was used to Gwyndolin not being around a lot, but now the Undead was there pretty much the whole time. Even though Ornstein noticed that he started to look away when his bandages got changed, he could feel the gaze on him far too often and started to get annoyed.

"Would you please stop staring at me? It is annoying.", Ornstein snapped one day and the Undead winced like a hurt puppy.

"S... sorry.", he said and averted his gaze, staring very hard at the wall. It felt so intense that Ornstein had the assumption he wanted to burn a hole in the wall with his gaze alone. Somehow this was even worse to witness.

"Alright, fine, look at me if you must, but if you have some trouble with me, just come over and tell me.", Ornstein sighed.

"That's not why I stare.", the Undead said super quickly. "It's just... the whole situation we are in. I mean, having to work together after fighting to the death..." The Undead discontinued his sentence when Ornstein glared at him. "...sorry...", he whispered and stared at the ground. Even though he wore his helmet, Ornstein could feel the train of thoughts that must have raced through the idiot's mind now. He sighed. He didn't like the guy and he certainly didn't want to have to escort him through a land as perilous as Lordran, but he remembered the time when he had been a clueless knight and he wouldn't have been here in this position now if not for some help, so he waved for the Undead to come closer. The Undead raised his head, looking around as if confused, but got up and came closer, sitting down into the chair that was placed there. Ornstein frowned a bit at this, cause Gwyndolin was using this chair too and it felt just wrong for such a lesser being to sit down on the same space as a god, but Gwyndolin didn't seem to mind it, so he had to swallow his discomfort.

"You told me that you aren't one of Astora's elite knights.", Ornstein said, to which the Undead nodded.

"That is correct. I have been..."

Ornstein interrupted him. "I am not here to hear about your life story. What I want to know, when you haven't been a knight, how in the world did you made it here?"

The idiot stared at him, again, Ornstein had not trouble feeling it through the visor now. "I already told you, when I first came here? I am pretty sure you listened, you made snappy comments all the way through."

"No, that is not what I meant.", Ornstein said, his mouth turned into a grin, commenting on that idiot's story had been fun. "I want to know, why haven't you given up sooner?"

Ornstein expected a lot of things, the Undead being snarky or that he would just deny everything, but what he didn't expect, was the Undead going silent, head hanging low, saying: "...honestly, I have been close to giving up several times. When I fought the gargoyles, when I went down into Blighttown, when I was dying over and over in the fortress, … when I was fighting you..., but...", he raised his head again. "I pulled through cause I felt I could only go forward. That there wasn't any use into going back or staying put and wait for the end."

"So why are you ready to give up now?", Ornstein asked.

"Because I just couldn't pull through anymore.", the Undead snapped. "Suddenly I was tasked with killing these beings that once has been lords. How should anyone not lose the will to pull through after hearing this? And that after I already died a hundred times or more. I tried to go on, but I just couldn't anymore. It has become too much!" The last words the Undead shouted.

"Interesting... so instead of pulling through and get the last challenge tasked from you done, you decided to give up without even trying.", Ornstein said, rolling his eyes.

"You are one to talk.", the Undead said. "As if you haven't given up already."

Ornstein's gaze must have felt so sharp for the Undead as if he got pierced, cause he winced as if someone had just stabbed him. "Leave.", Ornstein said between clenched teeth, shaking with fury. The Undead jumped up, uttered an apology and stormed out of the room. Ornstein sighed deeply and closed his eyes, not wanting to deal with his intrusive thoughts, trying to drift to sleep.

When Ornstein awoke the next time, he saw the Undead sitting in the chair again, without his helmet for a change and he seemed to be fast asleep himself. Interesting, so Undead still could go to sleep, even though they didn't need to do it anymore. Seeing the Undead sleeping there like that, at once with his face uncovered, Ornstein got curious and he caught himself how his eyes wandered to inspect the face of him. What he saw was... nothing spectacular to be honest. The Undead's face wasn't even very attractive, his feature felt too pronounced, his nose was a bit crooked and his eyes looked like they were drooping down, giving him the face of a sad sack. All of this was framed with messy, short rusty red hair. The longer he stared, the more he found to be the face charming. Ornstein huffed, averting his gaze, how could he find such an ugly face charming? His head jerked back to the Undead when he heard him move and he slowly opened his eyes, Ornstein spotted that they were blue.

"What where you doing?", Ornstein asked. "Watching me sleep?"

"More like watching over you while you sleep, Lord Gwyndolin has asked me to have an eye on you should you need help.", the Undead answered.

"I can take care of myself just fine, thank you.", Ornstein said grimly. "Besides, you fell asleep yourself, doing a very good job."

"Well... I don't have an excuse for that.", the Undead stammered. "You know, I know you don't like me and want to get this all over with as quick as possible, but for now we seem to be stuck having to work with each other. So why don't you teach me about the lords we have to hunt down? You knew them all personally, right?"

"Yes, that is correct, it must have been a thousand years already..." Ornstein could hear the Undead gasp at this statement. "Don't look at me like that, if you live as long as I do, a hundred years start to feel like ten years."

"It's just... hard to imagine.", the Undead said.

"And yet you are unable to die. Who knows, maybe there is an Undead who manages to not go hollow for a thousand years? But I don't think that is possible.", Ornstein smirked. "So, I am stuck in bed anyway, so I could tell you all what I know. But I will only say it once, so take notes."

The Undead hastily got to the table in a corner of a room, uncorking an ink pot, grabbing a squill and straightening a scroll. "I am ready.", he shouted. Ornstein took a deep breath.

"There is the Witch of Izalith. There had been a huge accident when she tried to recreate the first flame and now she spews out all kinds of demons. We send the black knights down there but they all died and the rest of them followed Lord Gwyn in the kiln and were nowhere to be seen anymore. Lost Izalith how we call it nowadays is a very hot place, so we have to find a method to walk on lava first. If that is even possible." Ornstein wrinkled his nose and continued with his story.

"Then we have Gravelord Nito. Pains me a bit to have to end him actually, he has been a good guy, always taking care of the deceased. But now we have reasons to believe that his powers are getting abused, sadly there is no other way than to end the old guy. He resides in the catacombs so bringing a holy weapon should be appropriate. Nito never could never necromance anything that was slain by a holy weapon, guess it was his weakness..." Ornstein stopped for a moment. Nito was one of the few lords he actually felt sorry for. Killing the Witch of Izalith felt like a mercy kill, but Nito had always been very calm and friendly, it felt hard to believe for a being that was a cloak filled with skeletons. Ornstein wondered what would happen to the souls of the deceased once he was gone? He took another deep breath and continued:

"Then we have New Londo, where the Four Kings used to reside. The city is drowned by now. They have been very close to spawn an abyss so we had to take some... extreme measures. It could be possible that we need to see an old friend of mine first before we can do anything there.

And last, there is Seath, the pale drake. Never liked him. He has long gotten mad and has been mad from the start. He is tricky though, so I guess we have to expect that he won't make it easy for us."

Ornstein stopped and glanced at the Undead. "Did you get all of this?"

"I... I guess.", the Undead said and Ornstein saw him scrawl notes on the paper, muttering some names and things and Ornstein was sure that he already mixed half of it up.

"What have I gotten myself into?", Ornstein muttered quietly to himself while observing the idiot.

The rest of the time it took Ornstein to fully heal passed quicker than he thought. The idiot sometimes attempted to talk to him, but Ornstein usually shut him off quickly. So most of the time he seemed to spend his time reading the books that Gwyndolin had in the tomb. Ornstein asked himself if books about moonlight magic would actually help this Undead out, judging from their battle he hasn't been the magic type, but was a bit delighted when he actually saw him picking up a history book. And there were always this glances in Ornstein's direction, that he couldn't really put anywhere. It made Ornstein feel a bit uncomfortable so he often would scold the idiot to stop this. And when Ornstein was finally allowed to get out of bed for more than bathroom breaks, it didn't got better, the staring got so far that Ornstein sometimes requested Gwyndolin to remove the Undead from the room to have some peace and quiet. Sadly, he came back every time.

Now was the time where Gwyndolin removed the bandages for good and Ornstein could admire his new scars. Only that he didn't admired them at all, thinking about who was at fault that he had them, a large one on his chest and a few smaller ones on his legs. Only one scar he felt like he could cherish... when he raised his hand and felt the scar on the left side of his head, gently caressed it, the last gift his boyfriend had left for him.

"It would be a good time to wash your hair now.", Gwyndolin said, undoing the braid, letting Ornstein's curls flow down his back. "It has been some time and your hair already starts to mat." Ornstein felt another one of these glances at him and turned his head to see the Undead staring at him, he frowned into his direction.

"Listen, we have to move soon, but I need to get a bath and a few things from the cathedral first, so collect your strength."

"Actually...", the Undead murmured from his corner. "...Can I come with you? Staying put here lately has made me so uneasy, I want to move out too."

Ornstein sighed while he picked up a tunic that Gwyndolin provided to dress himself. "Fine, but don't get in my way."

After having slipped into his armour, Ornstein said his goodbyes to Gwyndolin, thanked them for taking care of his injuries and then set off for the cathedral with the Undead in tow. The Undead sprinted straight for the elevator, but Ornstein just extended an arm and pulled him back, spear pointing to a back alley. The Undead followed him into it and Ornstein could quickly notice how in awe he was.

"What, you didn't think you have seen all of Anor Londo?", Ornstein said.

"Of course not. I am more in awe how you are finding your way in this labyrinth.", the Undead answered.

"Which part about having lived for over a millennia didn't you get?", Ornstein bantered and they soon were able to enter the cathedral through one of its many side doors.

"I will need some time and the silver knights in the cathedral will attack you on sight, so you probably should wait here.", Ornstein said, pointing to a chair, it was a lucky coincidence that the room had once been used as a waiting room.

"But how do I know that you will come back?", the Undead asked. Well, well, that idiot seemed to get some common sense at last.

"I give you my word that I will be helping you out in your quest and a knight of Gwyn will never betray an oath of theirs.", Ornstein said, spear raised, trying to look as tall and impressive as possible.

"And what if something happens to you?", the Undead asked.

Ornstein snorted. "What should happen to me here? There is nobody around to hurt me anymore. Granted if you don't suddenly decide to turn your blade against me."

"Why should I fight against you a second time when you recovered when I had all the chances back then where you had been injured?" The tone of the Undead sounded like he was offended. "Besides, I really want your help. I was just worried, what if some kind of accident happen and then there is nobody there to help you..?"

Ornstein sighed. "Fine, you can come along."

"Th..thanks.", the Undead said, sounding slightly surprised.

"Just don't get in my way and I won't do anything if the silver knights are hunting you down.", Ornstein grumbled, ascending the stairs in the waiting room.

"Can't you just say to them to not try to kill me?", the Undead said, having some trouble keeping up with Ornstein's long steps. "For your information, they are simply magic filled armour and will only carry out Gwyndolin's orders and even if they would listen to me, no.", Ornstein answered. He could hear the Undead's elite knight armour clink. It wasn't like Ornstein's armour wouldn't produce any noise, farm from it, but while his clanks were calm and adjusted, coming from having worn this armour for centuries, the idiot wasn't used to his armour at all and it made all kind of mismatched noises, which would draw any foe into their direction quickly.

"Can you try and make a little less noise?", Ornstein snarled at the Undead who once again winced under his words and then actually made less noise until a point Ornstein couldn't hear him at all anymore. He turned around only to see that the idiot wasn't in his tow anymore. And Ornstein had been sure he had passed at last one silver knight on his way.

"Shit, where did that idiot ran off too?", Ornstein growled and backtraced his steps, falling into a trot when he heard the scraping of metal on each other, like a sword banging against a shield and he found the Undead locked in a battle with the silver knight he had passed. Ornstein considered intervening into the battle. If the idiot managed to die, he would appear at the last bonfire he had sat on and it had been the one in the Dark Moon Tomb and Ornstein didn't want him to have that near to Gwyndolin without him being present. He grabbed his spear and entered a battle stance, when the Undead managed to parry the next strike of the silver knight and riposted right through their armour, the ghostly armour falling to the floor with an unholy screech, only to rise again after the magic holding it together would come back.

"I always tried to train them to not be parried that easily.", Ornstein said, leaning against the wall. "You have fallen behind. Don't let this happen again."

The Undead gasped, sword covered in some icky white goo. "You were the one who wanted less noise and made me tiptoe and didn't slow down.", he ranted.

"Well, we weren't in this situation if you had waited down there in the first place.", Ornstein took a deep breath. No, that idiot wasn't worth it for him to get worked up about. "Just follow me and try to not draw another silver knight's attention.", he reluctantly said, continuing on, with the noisy steps of the Undead behind him.

They eventually made it into the quarters Ornstein had inhabited with Smough. A certain hollowness was spreading in his chest. It felt weird for him to return there and Smough not being there. Not being in the kitchen preparing their dinner, not waiting into their living room, reading a book or cleaning up, not scooping Ornstein up to carry him into bed, not tending to his herbal garden, not waiting in the bathroom for Ornstein to join them for some fun time. Ornstein thought that tears would come, but his eyes were dry. Had he cried out all his sadness already and only emptiness remained? He wondered if going hollow felt like this for the Undead.

Speaking of the Undead, he still was with this idiot. On the way they had encountered a few other silver knights but the Undead had managed to parry and riposte them all. At least one thing he was skilled in apparently, even though Ornstein didn't exactly like this skill, cause it felt for him like he had failed in training his silver knights. Even though these silver knights weren't real, their fighting style consisted of the memory of the owner of the armour and Ornstein had trained each and every single one of them. At least the idiot had failed a few times and needed to sip from his Estus afterwards, which made Ornstein partially feel at ease. Now, the Undead was standing behind him, looking around, he clearly hadn't seen this part of the cathedral before.

"So.", Ornstein started. "I need to get a few things and get myself ready, so you have some time for yourself. I would prefer if you would just wait here..." Ornstein pointed into the living room. "..until I am ready. There are books in there if you get bored."

The Undead simply nodded to him and trudged into the room. Ornstein watched him carefully until he sat down on the bench that was fluffed up with pillows. Ornstein felt a tug on his heart when he looked at the bench, how many evenings had he spent there with Smough, cuddled against his big frame while the executioner stroked his hair. He quickly detached his gaze and strode into the direction of their bedroom.

As he closed the door behind him and turned around to take a look, it washed over Ornstein that it truly was over. That he would never see Smough again. He started shivering and knew it was coming. It had happened already shortly after Gwyndolin had saved him, when he had to face this truth the first time. Back then Gwyndolin had been there to cry with him and comfort him, but now... Ornstein was all alone. He did the few steps to the bed and collapsed on its foot, his armour clattering on the ground, while he just felt the tears streaming down his face, his breath going short, his shivering didn't want to stop. Usually Smough had been there for him, helping him getting out of the breakdown, but now Ornstein was alone. Again. Damn, he had gotten too used to having Smough around this last 100 years. Or maybe it had been 200, he had long lost count. As he sat there on the ground, shivering, crying, feeling like an absolute mess, his gaze fell onto a few items on the shelf.

A dragon carving, a dragon shaped hairpin, a scarf with a dragon motive, a dragon shaped tea service and a potted catnip plant. Looking at them, he couldn't help but feel a smile creeping on his face, his shivering managed to stop. Their mementos. From the other knight and his master. And now, also, Smough. Thinking about him like that made Ornstein's heart drop again, but this time he managed to compose himself.

"I just need to keep it together for a little while longer.", Ornstein murmured to himself. That had been his mantra before Smough entered into his life, often repeating it like a charm, to help him get through it, manage to keep his composure, to not be weak but instead be the symbol the people and his knights needed.

"Now nobody needs a symbol anymore.", Ornstein murmured farther. "I wonder if people even would recognize me when another 1000 years passed?"

Ornstein got up, he had wasted enough time. He didn't want to let the Undead wait too long or he could get bad ideas. Ornstein stripped himself from his armour and his clothes and fetched a bath robe as well as a few supplies to clean himself with, untied his ponytail and made his way to the public bathroom, how he still called it, even though he and Smough did had this thing for themselves for the last century. Smough had loved it to wash Ornstein's long hair, run his fingers through it and sometimes they had a bit more fun in the bathroom. Ornstein felt his face go red thinking about what the servants earlier would have thought when they had to clean up their remains, but like the silver knights, the servants had all long left and so Ornstein and Smough had been the ones to clean up their own mess, so it was their secret alone. Ornstein sighed when he entered the bathroom. He couldn't help it, but every time he saw a new place where Smough usually had been, someone tug at his heart and it felt like they tried to rip it out of him. So Ornstein wasn't surprised when he felt new tears streaming down his face when he washed his hair, or maybe it was just the water from the bathroom? He didn't know. He also didn't want to think about it.

After his bath he returned to their room and prepared a travel bag. In went mostly clothes and some stuff that could be useful, like dressing material, needle and a thread (Smough had showed him how to sew), he also put some of his art utensils into it, even though he had the feeling he wouldn't be able to get to this hobby at all. The last thing he needed were provisions, so Ornstein took his travel bag and went to the kitchen with it.

Ornstein thought he had already cried enough this day, but entering the kitchen hit him very hard. How often had he entered the kitchen, drawn inside by the delicious smell of Smough's meal? How often had he sat down at the table waiting for Smough to finishing cooking, just enjoying to watch the large frame of his boyfriend over an activity he enjoyed so much? How often had Smough tried to teach him to cook, with mixed results? And now, standing in the door frame of the kitchen, only clothed with a bath robe, it hit Ornstein. He would never eat Smough's meals again. He was gone, forever and he knew he eventually had to face it, but for now he didn't want to. Ornstein wanted to allow himself a moment of weakness, because Smough had showed him that he didn't need to be strong all the time, so he fell on his knees, crying it all out, the tears not only streaming down his face but also dripping heavy on the floor. How long he stayed like that? Ornstein didn't knew, but eventually he got up onto his feet. He always got up again. He took a deep breath, wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve and started to pack as much provisions as he could carry.

After Ornstein was done with packing, he got dressed, put his hair back into a ponytail and slipped back into his armour, but didn't put the helmet on this time. He needed to make one last trip, to the giant blacksmith, his armour needed some repairs. He put one last glance at the shelf and made a mental note to tell Gwyndolin to take care of Smough's herbal garden before they departed. Then, he went over and swooped the hair pin, the figurine and the scarf into his luggage. He would have loved to take the tea service too, but it honestly wouldn't fit anymore. Maybe he should just take one piece? He decided to take a cup with him. And last, he snipped off a leaf of the catnip plant and put it in a small book to dry which he packed too. With his travel bag in one hand and his helmet carried under his other arm, he made his way back to the living room, where he saw the Undead standing at the table, his gaze on a few pieces of paper that were spread out on it. Ornstein nearly dropped his helmet when he saw what it was.

"Can't you sit still for one hour? What are you doing?", he snarled, walking over to the table. "I haven't allowed you to look at these."

"Wait, you said to me to wait in here, you didn't say that I couldn't take a look around.", the Undead quickly countered, taking a defensive stance. Ornstein noticed that he had pointed his spear at the Undead and lowered it.

"This is... deeply personal and I don't want anyone to look at them.", Ornstein hissed through gritted teeth.

"Fine, fine, I have seen nothing.", the Undead said, but Ornstein heard him mutter "You have cared deeply about him, huh?" He got quiet after Ornstein glared at him.

"I am almost ready, I just need to get to the giant blacksmith for some armour repairs and then have to go back to Gwyndolin one last time before we can depart.", Ornstein said and the unlikely duo set off.

"I never would have thought you could draw.", the Undead suddenly said on their way.

"What, did you think that all I did was sitting in that great hall waiting for someone to arrive?", Ornstein scoffed.

"No, that's not it, I just... didn't thought the famous dragon slayer would sit down at a table to make art.", the Undead answered, head hanging a bit low.

"Do you have any problems with it?", Ornstein asked and the Undead shook his head and the rest of the way they covered in silence.

Arrived at the giant blacksmith, Ornstein stripped himself from his armour and handed it over to the giant blacksmith without saying a word, the old guy knew what he had to do. And he wasn't the talkative kind anyway, so usually Ornstein never uttered a word around him anymore. He saw the Undead sitting down on the stairs while Ornstein, tired of having been stuck in bed for so long, leaned against the wall. Ornstein watched the hammer of the giant blacksmith clink against his armour, bathing in the relaxing sound, when the Undead took up the word again.

"The room with the... dragon heads in here... Where they...?", he started and Ornstein immediately knew what he was implying.

"Yes.", he confirmed. "The dragons I hunted."

Ornstein wouldn't had been surprised if the Undead's eyes would have gone wide under his helmet, but with the visor down he couldn't see them. He thought about this brief moment when he had seen him without helmet, damn, he had blue eyes, just like Smough, why did he had to notice this now? Ornstein got broken out of this thoughts by the Undead's voice again: "How was it... Hunting dragons, I mean?"

Ornstein sighed. The Undead hopefully didn't expect from him to tell him the whole story about the dragon war, it went on long enough and was written down in every history book. "I don't want to talk about this.", Ornstein answered. "But, as we are still stuck here a bit, let me tell you about the variants of dragons we fought. You probably noticed that there have been dragon heads of all colours and sizes." The Undead nodded.

"There have been different kinds of dragon we hunted. The everlasting stone dragons where the ones who were immortal when their scales weren't removed. It was Seath who told us the secret, that lightning could cut their scales down and made us able to kill them. I am pretty sure we haven't left a single one of them alive." Ornstein sighed. "Back then it felt like the right decision, but after a thousand years I ask myself if it really was the right thing to do." Huh, strange, why did Ornstein feel to reveal this personal detail to the Undead? He felt his face flush red.

"F-forget what I just said.", he said, averting his gaze and staring at the giant blacksmith again, trying to get mesmerized by the hammer clinking.

"And the other dragons...?", the voice of the Undead carried over to him.

"...There were the ancient dragons, they didn't had stone scales but weren't less terrifying. The last one of them fell a few centuries ago in Oolacile.", Ornstein said in a soundlessly voice.

"And then there are the drakes and wyvern, which you probably have encountered here. Descendants of the everlasting and ancient dragons, but their power is nothing compared to them. They can only be described as inferior.", Ornstein finished at the same moment the giant blacksmith finished hammering.

"Seems like my armour is ready.", Ornstein said and turned his attention to the giant blacksmith, received his armour and bowed to him in thanks before putting it on. When he waved to the Undead to follow him, he shot up and trotted behind him, waving to the giant blacksmith and saying a thing like "Farewell and thank you for your service." and Ornstein swore he heard the giant blacksmith mutter the word "Friend."

"Our first target should be Seath, the archives are the closest from here.", Ornstein said. "Stay close to me, don't stray away and do everything I tell you, understood?" The Undead simply nodded. "Excellent, but first I need to head over to Gwyndolin quick.", he said and both of them stepped out of the cathedral.

When they were far enough away, Ornstein turned around, to gaze at it in its full glory, the shimmering sunlight glimmering on it and felt a tug at his heart another time. How many years had he stayed there, waiting for the inevitable? It felt strange for him to leave it behind, but for now, all he could do was going on. He detached his gaze and strode with large steps towards their destination.

After they had visited Gwyndolin and Ornstein had asked them to take care of Smough's herbal garden and the catnip plant, which Gwyndolin promised, the knight and the Undead mounted the elevator that would lead them to the platform which led to Seath's hideout.

"We are really going to do this, huh?", Ornstein muttered, staring at the Undead. "It feels like you brought a storm upon me."


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: Tempest and Ornstein arrive at the archives. Everything should go smoothly. The emphasis is on should.

(Author's note: Jeez, I am really sorry taking SO long for this story to update. I am very glad for the interest in it and I promise, I will write it to the end. Also, we are finally getting into some action. I hope you enjoy!)

After the elevator had arrived, Ornstein jumped right off, heading for the small building that they had to cross to reach the Duke's Archives, not paying any attention if the Undead was following him.

"Hey, wait up, please!", his voice sounded and Ornstein stopped, not without annoyance, watching the Undead running to catch up to him.

"You are as slow as a snail.", Ornstein complained. "Maybe you should consider getting rid of some of that armour. You clearly aren't used to wearing it."

"No, it is because you make two steps when I make one.", the Undead countered.

Ornstein huffed and turned around. "Just try to keep up."

Once they arrived at the small building, Ornstein stopped in front of the Smough statue and laid a hand on his heart, saying a silent prayer, trying very hard to not let new tears form in his eyes. He was – however – brutally ripped out of his prayer by the sound of a halberd connecting with armour and an Undead's face slammed into the ground. Ornstein turned around to see him fighting one of the giant sentinels, no, that wasn't the right word, the giant sentinel was mopping the floor with him.

The Undead pulled himself up and struggled to roll out of the way from the next swing. "Um, Ornstein? How about a little help?"

Ornstein crossed his arms, watching the drama unfold. "On the way to us, you had to go through several of these guys. There is even the royal version standing right outside of the great hall. How are you able to fail so bad?"

After Ornstein had finished his rant, the Undead had already been beaten to a pulp and desperately grabbed for his Estus. Ornstein deeply sighed, grabbed his spear and drove it through the giant sentinel which disintegrated instantly.

The Undead sipped a few times from the Estus and got up. "By the lords, I thought I was done for."

"Just how did you ever made it to us?", Ornstein blurted out.

"Um... I may have just ran past them?" The Undead grinned sheepishly at Ornstein.

"How did I lose to you again?" Ornstein turned around and took care of the second giant sentinel, that had only had stood there and watched. He himself wasn't attacked by any creature in Anor Londo anyway, but the Undead wouldn't be able to get past them without being spotted.

"So, let's not waste anytime anymore and go on.", Ornstein said only to see that the Undead had ran to the chest next to the Smough statue.

"Who even put them there?", he murmured and impatiently tapped his foot, when the Undead went to the chest right of the statue and proceeded to open it. Something about this chest looked wrong.

"Oh no, wait, it's a mimic!", Ornstein shouted, but it was too late, the Undead already had fallen into the trap and groaned and squealed while the sharp teeth bit down on him several times, making blood spray, Ornstein cringed while he watched the scene, but he knew that trying to pull someone out of a mimic grab was an impossible task. Once the monster had spat the idiot out, which was hopefully still alive, Ornstein took up the fight against the mimic.

He was used to them, the cathedral seemed to attract them like cheese would attract mice. With a few graceful swings of his spear he managed to deal the killing blow. The mimic spat out the treasure it had swallowed, which fell on the floor with a clank. He picked it up, a crystal halberd.

"Huh, how fitting that this was near the Archives.", Ornstein said to himself. In the meantime, the idiot seemed to have managed to get back on his feet.

"So... are you actually planning to do anything or will you let me do all the work?", Ornstein hissed and tossed the crystal halberd in his direction, which the undead struggled to catch, but he managed.

"So this is the treasure you thought was worth to die for. They look fancy and can do quite some damage, but once they break, they cannot be repaired ever. Not a good weapon in my opinion." Ornstein turned around again, walking with long strides towards the day. He could hear the Undead clanking up behind him.

"Wait, how did you know it was a mimic?", he wanted to know.

Ornstein stopped and turned around to eye the idiot. "First, I can't believe that you wouldn't attack any chest when you can't see the difference and second, there is a subtle difference. Look at their chain and their colour. It is becoming obvious once you spot it."

"Sorry... I promise I won't let myself eat by another mimic.", the Undead stared at the ground or at least it looked like it.

"I sure hope so.", Ornstein said and walked out of the door, where another giant sentinel blocked the way to the archives. He sighed.

"I hope you actually do some fighting once we are in the archives.", he murmured and readied his spear to get rid of the giant sentinel. The Undead just stood there when it dissolved into souls.

"Sorry...", the Undead murmured once again. His defeated tone almost made Ornstein feel bad. This guy clearly wasn't a fighter. That he even managed to make it that far could be counted as a miracle. It probably was the greatest of luck an idiot like him could ever imagine to have.

The both of them walked in silence next to each other (Ornstein actually slowed down his steps a bit for the Undead) until they arrived at the long, narrow hallways, that lead to the archives.

"I haven't been here in a while, this place had been locked off for quite some while now.", Ornstein explained. "One day suddenly a fog gate appeared and we recognized it as Lord Gwyn's, even though he had long left when it appeared. He probably had it set up to activate once a certain event happened."

"So why is it gone now?"

"Because you placed the lord vessel. I guess this toothy serpent has told you all about it?"

"He only told me that I need to collect four powerful souls."

"Well, Seath is one of them and he is in the archives behind this hallway, so let's go."

The Undead nodded and followed Ornstein inside, staying closely behind him, as if he wanted to use the big body of the dragon slayer as a shield.

"How about you go ahead?", Ornstein said and swiftly changed places with him, so quick that the Undead couldn't even complain.

"Fine...", he just said and clutched shield and katana in both of his hands, carefully crossing a corner and then running back right away.

"Oh no, it's one of them.", he murmured.

"What are you talking about?", Ornstein asked and took a peak around the corner as well, spotting an armoured boar. "Oh, these are new. Seath didn't guard this hallways earlier."

"So what shall we do?", the Undead whispered as if the boar would charge at them any given moment.

"Fight, of course.", Ornstein answered. He didn't even need to think twice about this. "So how about you show me that you actually are able to fight?", Ornstein mocked. The Undead turned around with a "Hmph" and Ornstein saw him readying a pyromancy flame.

"Oh, you got yourself some pyromancy? Not a bad move.", he commented, leaning against the wall. "I just wonder why you didn't use it in your fight against us."

"You guys are dragon slayers, what would fire have done to you?", the Undead replied in a tone as if he couldn't even believe this question. Ornstein didn't answer. It was true that their armour had some more fire defense, but if the Undead had used pyromancy right away, he could have probably prevented a few deaths. Or maybe not. Ornstein's usual reaction to fire was to answer with lightning. When the idiot really was going to use a pyromancy spell, Ornstein maybe should look somewhere else.

The next thing Ornstein saw, was that the Undead got tossed at the nearest wall. Judging from gazing at the armoured boar and the sound he had heard before the Undead flew through the air, at least one spell made it through. The Undead stood up, grabbed his weapon and charged at the boar, which quickly made him connect with the ground again.

"You don't attack them from the front, but from behind.", Ornstein broke his silence and leaped over the boar to drive his spear into that one particular unarmoured part of the boar.

"There isn't enough room for me to go around it.", the Undead shouted and muttered a "Brutal...", when he saw Ornstein's attack.

"Just jump over it!", Ornstein called out to him, not minding that his spear stuck deep in the rear of the boar.

"You don't really think I am able to do this wearing several pounds of plate armour?"

"Then don't wear several pounds of plate armour!"

"You really think I am able to jump like you AT ALL?"

"Fine, then not.", Ornstein pulled his spear out of the boar which had squeaked in agonized pain over their whole conversation. "Just finish it off."

The Undead nodded and hurled a fireball at it, making the boar collapse to the ground. He took another sip of his Estus and stared at the tiny rest still into it. "I hope the next bonfire comes soon...", he complained.

"We have been on our way for 20 minutes now and you already have used up all your Estus...", Ornstein shook his head in disdain. He took up the lead again and when he rounded the next corner... "You won't like this, there is another one of them..." He could hear how the idiot groaned loudly.

"Alright, I have to admit, it is quite sadistic of Seath to place them into such a narrow hallway.", Ornstein mentioned. "I will weaken it like the first one, then you finish it off."

The Undead nodded and one spear strike and one fireball later the boar was also taken care off.

"I don't get how you can stab into their butt with a straight face.", the Undead murmured.

"Who said I have a straight face doing it?", Ornstein teased, making the Undead cover his helmet, probably in shame of having being heard. But when Ornstein was honest to himself, he had seen some messed up stuff in his life, stabbing some boar into the rear wasn't the icing on the cake. He stared at this spear though, which was riddled with blood now and maybe... other things, he should clean it soon.

The hallway ended and they arrived in a large room and the Undead sighed in relief when he saw the bonfire, rushing over to it, to fill his Estus. Ornstein used this opportunity to get out a cloth and clean the tip of his spear of any blood or other bodily fluids.

After he was done, he walked over to the Undead, who just stared into the bonfire. "Well, can we go?"

The Undead moved with a start. "Sorry, just had to brace myself." He got up and took a look around. "So these are the archives? I was expecting more books."

"We aren't at the library part now, idiot." Ornstein pointed at a platform in front of them. "We first have to take the elevator up." Ornstein walked over, pulled the lever and the elevator came down with a rattling noise. He walked on it and saw how the Undead followed.

"So, when we are up there.", Ornstein said after pulling the lever to get the elevator moving. "We have to expect do deal with Seath's experiment and nobody can say if there are traps. Follow my lead and don't storm forward, understood?"

The Undead nodded, clutching his katana and shield. A knight's shield, Ornstein recognized. A pretty standard, but decent one. Ornstein always had preferred to not use shields, even as a silver knight. He of course knew how to use them, but against dragons they just felt like extra weight, so his fighting style was based entirely around being shieldless.

When the elevator stopped with a loud clang, Ornstein headed forwards and hid behind the wall, peaking in the next room. He saw how the Undead imitated him at the other wall, only that he peaked a bit too much forward and had to withdrew his head when an arrow zoomed right next to his head.

"And we have been spotted... great.", Ornstein sighed and readied his spear, seeing how the Undead ducked, muttering "How are you even able to see anything?"

"I manage and now prepare yourself, because that aren't our standard hollows.", Ornstein charged forward and drove his spear into the first target or he would have liked to do it, but instead it clanked against the solid crystal. The Undead followed and apparently wanted to slice the hollow, but faced the same problem.

"Damn, normally they aren't that hard.", he said and began another attack, as well as Ornstein and together they managed to go beneath the crystal and soon the crystallized hollow laid lifeless on the ground, but it had been only one of them. The battle noises had attracted a few more of them along with the sniper that continued to shot arrows in their direction.

"From all the things Seath had to experiment with, it had to be twinkling titanite.", Ornstein growled.

"Is this bad?", the Undead asked, struggling to fight his current foe and evading the arrows. With another sigh, Ornstein kicked his current target down and prepared a lightning bolt to get rid of the sniper.

"Bladed weapons have a hard time cracking through it.", Ornstein explained while he stabbed the crystal hollow that already had gotten up from the kick. "Something like a mace would probably be more suited, but that isn't a type of weapon I am experienced with."

Without the sniper, the Undead had managed to eventually cut his foe down. "I may have something like a mace with me, but I don't have any titanite with me to reinforce it.", he said.

"Then stay with your blade, it will still be more useful then a non reinforced weapon." Ornstein had managed to take all the foes down who had been charging at him. Which had almost been the entire room. He could probably consider himself lucky that the Undead had at least managed to strike one of the crystal hollows down.

"Have this been all or are there more?", the Undead asked and suddenly stormed the stairs up, running right into a crystal golem standing there.

"Are you nuts?", Ornstein shouted and leaped over to the Undead, who had already gotten hit by an uppercut. Great, crystal golems. Their skin was far too hard for Ornstein's spear to do much damage, so it was just him chipping away at the creature until it dissolved into dust. When he was done, he turned around and saw the Undead standing behind him, his weapon in both hands, staring awkwardly as if he had wanted to help but had been missing the guts.

"I told you to not storm off.", Ornstein growled.

"I just wanted to be useful...", the Undead replied. "Huh? I think that golem left something." And with that words the Undead had already ran past Ornstein and picked the item up.

"What is this? Some kind of broken pendant?", the Undead stared at the trinket, seemingly trying to make sense of it. Ornstein came closer to take a look.

"I have the feeling I have seen this trinket somewhere before.", he murmured but then his expression darkened, of course not to be seen under his helmet, but his voice turned into a dangerous tone. "And that was the second time you stormed off."

"Relax, there haven't been any foes anymore.", the Undead said in a far too casual tone.

"This item could have been a trap. Do I have to remind who was eaten by a mimic earlier?"

Ornstein didn't await an answer and twirled around to peak in the next room. This was where the archives really started. Loads of books were aligned on shelves, they were stacked on the floor or on tables and there were all kind of constructs and other stuff Ornstein didn't had any clue what it was or why Seath needed it. This wasn't the important thing however.

The important thing was, that in this room he could spot a good number of crystal hollows already and that wasn't counting the ones who could hide. He scanned the room once more and spotted one of Seath's channelers on the stairs. The stairs that led to an elevator that they needed to use to get into Seath's study room.

"Alright, this time we are going into this more calmly.", Ornstein whispered to the Undead.

"What? You have to talk louder!", the Undead shouted from the other side of the wall where Ornstein had peaked into the room. Ornstein winced. He thoroughly hoped that channeler hadn't heard them.

Ornstein hold a finger in front of the lion mouth of his helmet to indicate silence, whispering "Shhh, not so loud.", but realized that his whispering probably was prompting the Undead to shout again and instead gestured for him to come over to him which he did.

"Why are you whispering when I am several meter away?", he asked.

"Because I thought you were standing right next to me.", Ornstein sighed. "I want us to go into this room and not spark up a storm right away. Can you do this? Are you able to search the left area of the room and taking care of every crystal hollow that charges at you without the channeler in the middle taking note?"

The Undead seemed to consider. "I can try...", he said but it didn't sound very convincing.

"Are you still having estus left?"

The Undead nodded and Ornstein relaxed a bit. "Then you can take a few hits without trouble. I am going to clean out the right part. We meet behind the stairs to take care of the channeler."

Another nod. Ornstein gave the Undead a signal when to start only to gain a shrug of the small not-knight. Of course, he didn't had any clue how the military gesture code worked. Ornstein sighed again. They had been on this journey for less then an hour now and he couldn't wait for it to be over. Ornstein settled for another, simpler gesture, that the Undead could understand and he nodded once he got it. Then both of them were off into the room.

Ornstein tried to make as little noise as possible, not an easy task with wearing several pounds of plate armour, but he had worn it for so long, that it was easy for him to dampen some of his noise. He fought his way through any crystal hollow daring to stand in his way and made it to the stairs to see that there was another crystal hollow hidden. Very clever of Seath to position them there. Ornstein easily dispatched them too and now had to wait for the Undead.

Ornstein leaned lazily against the wall, listening to the battle noises. Technically he could have gone and helped the Undead with his side now, but Ornstein already was sick and tired of having to do almost all the work. The Undead had somehow managed to overcome every challenge to arrive Anor Londo and even beat him and Smough. Ornstein was beginning to assume that he was failing on purpose so that he didn't had to do any fighting anymore.

Nonetheless, the Undead needed quite some time. Ornstein could hear the clanking of a blade on crystal, the sound of estus being sipped, souls getting sucked in by the dark sign and the sound of a soul arrow connecting with an undead.

Wait a minute, the sound of a sould arrow connecting with an undead?

Ornstein shot out of his hiding place and in fact, the channeler had spotted the Undead and he was still busy fighting the last crystal hollow. Which still wasn't dead and so Ornstein decided to take the fight against the channeler up, stabbing them with his spear which prompted the creature to turn around and cast a teleport spell.

"Damn.", Ornstein muttered. "Now they can get an advantage." He frantically looked around where the channeler would appear again and spotted more crystal hollows up the stairs, readying arrows to shoot while the channeler appeared again a bit higher up.

"How many of these are here? I knew it was a mistake to let Seath guard the Undead after the Oolacile mess.", Ornstein said and threw his hands up. The Undead finally seemed to have finished his battle and stepped next to Ornstein only to panic roll away, Ornstein noticed how awkward it looked in that armour he was wearing, when two arrows and one soul arrow were aimed at his direction. Ornstein leapt out of the way too and yanked the Undead behind the nearest shelf.

"What have you done?", he hissed. "We wanted to meet behind the stairs to take care of the channeler, not get their attention right away."

The Undead ducked. "I accidentally stepped in their line of sight while fighting. It wasn't on purpose. Also, you left me all alone."

"Because I thought you could at least take care of a few crystal hollows without getting spotted." The Undead ducked again because of Ornstein's furious whisper.

"So what do we now? Hide and wait until they stopped firing?" The sound of magic and arrows hitting the shelf was still very present.

"Hollows aren't smart enough for this, they won't stop to fire in the direction they have last seen us. For the channeler, I have no clue what happened to them, but they seem to be as dumb as the hollows now.", Ornstein explained. He took a deep breath. "Listen, I am fast enough to take care of the channeler up on the stairs but you have to take care of the snipers before they have a chance to shoot me. I am not immune to arrows either."

"You surely are able to take a few hits?", the Undead whispered back.

"I am, but for your reminder, estus doesn't work on me and I have recently been badly injured. By you.", Ornstein countered. "It is in our all interest that I don't get hit by a mess that you brought us into, got it?" Ornstein crossed his arms and stared anywhere but into the direction of the Undead.

"Fine, I'll do it.", the Undead said.

"Ready, I am counting to three. One, two, thr..." And the Undead stormed off to early. "Idiot, not now.", Ornstein shouted and leapt out of his hiding place, ran over to the stairs and to the position of the channeler. Luckily, his first hit had already weakened the channeler enough that his second hit made short work of them. And he hadn't even gotten hit by an arrow, so at least this had worked out.

When Ornstein turned around, he saw instead that the Undead had a few arrows stuck in him but the snipers were dead to his feet and he took another sip from his Estus.

"Shouldn't you pull them out first?", Ornstein asked and pointed at the arrows.

"Oh, don't worry, they normally fall off once the wounds are closing.", the Undead reassured Ornstein and in fact, they just fell onto the floor.

"Impressive.", Ornstein said. "And of course I don't have to give you a rundown about what went wrong here in this room, right?"

The Undead backed away. "I have been the first time here. I admit, things haven't gone smoothly, but I have tried my best."

"With your best you mean charging far too early and even though I have told you to wait for my command, little storm?", Ornstein said disparagingly.

"Actually, it's Tempest."

"Huh?"

"My name, it's Tempest, not Storm."

"That is basically the same thing. And would you do me a favour and stop acting like one?" Ornstein pointed to the elevator. "At least we are ready to take it now, I don't see any more hollows or channelers. And this time stay behind me." The last few words he hissed between gritted teeth.

They rode the elevator in silence. Once they were up, Ornstein stepped forward. "Follow me, little storm."

"I told you it's Tempest."

"Don't care."

Ornstein followed the way to another staircase, that was so overgrown with crystals, it very much indicated that Seath's study room was near. The only foe in their way was another crystal hollow, but apparently a stronger version. However, because it was only one foe, the two of them managed to kill it quickly and soon they stood in front of the fog gate.

"Alright, Seath is a tricky one. He experimented with immortality and there is no guarantee that this isn't a trap. So our next step should be well considered..." Before Ornstein could continue his thoughts he heard the sound of someone having stepped through the fog gate, the chinking of crystals from a dragon's breath and the sound of an Undead dissolving into ash.

"Oh, this IDIOT!", Ornstein shouted out.

(Author's note: About the pendant, Tempest actually hasn't spoken with Dusk yet. Normally it only appears when Dusk has been talked to, but I want to keep the flow of the story and it wouldn't make sense for my protagonists to return to the archives after being done there, so the pendant dropped right away. I am allowing myself to take some artistic liberties simply for a smoother story. Thanks for understanding ^^)


	7. Chapter 7

Summary: Tempest and Ornstein managed to get separated. Will they be fine on their own? And will Tempest escape the fury of the dragon slayer unscathed?

(Author's note: Like I said in the last chapter, I am taking some liberties with the game mechanics to create a better flow for the story. So I will base this story on the general premise of the gameplay in Dark Souls but also weave in my own headcanons and blend out what I think are merely game mechanics.

This one was planned since the start of the fic. Felt good to finally be able to write it out ^^)

When Tempest opened his eyes he suspected Ornstein shouting at him, the small Undead already winced in antipication when he noticed that there wasn't a dragon slayer shouting at him and that he had awoken next to a unknown bonfire.

Tempest got up from the ground and took a look around. He was in a cell. He had no clue how this dragon had done it, but apparently he had managed to snatch his body away before the dark sign had transported him to the last bonfire he had rested at. But that also meant... Tempest was on his own. He couldn't rely on the dragon slayer to get him out of here. He didn't even knew if it would be possible for Ornstein to come to this cell.

What a good thing, that a bonfire was right next to him. With the power of the lord vessel, it should be possible for him to just escape this place. Tempest sat down next to the bonfire and put his hand into it, concentrating on the place he wanted to appear. Anor Londo felt good. If he was lucky, Ornstein would still be around and they could try again.

After around five minutes had passed, Tempest withdrew his hand from the flame. It didn't work. The bonfire didn't respond to the power of the lord vessel. He should have known it. What use would a cell with a bonfire in it would have if the one imprisoned could just teleport away?

Tempest stood up again, pacing a few times up and down in the cell, when he noticed that it even got a bit farther into the wall where the bars had ended. Curiously he wandered there only to run into another crystal hollow, which attacked on sight. Tempest rose his shield just in time to block their attack before slashing away at them with his katana. Damn, why did they had to be so hard? He could even see the colours of the rainbow whenever he managed to splinter away some of that twinkling titanite. When the crystal hollow laid lifeless on the ground, Tempest returned to the front of the cell and examined the door.

It was locked of course. And there was no chance that he would be able to slice this bars in half with his katana or any other weapon he had with him. That was when he noticed the serpent man leaning against the bars. From the sounds of its breathing, fast asleep. And Tempest eyes darted down to its hip ... where there was a keyring. Maybe the key to the cell was there?

Tempest took a step back and considered. Should he just try and snatch the keyring? It looked pretty fast attached to the belt of the serpent men. It could take him quite some time, to remove it, so it would be far safer to take this advantage and kill the serpent man so Tempest could take the key he needed (if it even was there) without fearing for the foe to wake up. The little Undead snuck up to the serpent man, readied his katana and drove it deep into its back. The serpent man woke up and shrieked in pain. Tempest tugged on his katana to remove it from the back of his foe. Blood spurted out and Tempest was sure that the blood loss soon should kill the serpent man, when it suddenly staggered a few steps forward and collapsed. To far away from the door for Tempest to reach the keyring anymore.

"Oh no! What am I going to do now?", Tempest blurted out while disbelief darkened his hollowed out face.

After the idiot had ran through the fog gate and apparently died at Seath's hands, Ornstein had returned to the bonfire, thinking it would be the best to just wait until he reappeared. Only that it didn't happen. After enough time had passed that Ornstein had decided to have a snack, he was under the assumption that Seath somehow had managed to transport the body of the Undead before he had a chance to reappear at the bonfire.

Ornstein swallowed the last bite, took a sip of water out of his flask and then stood up. He better started to search for the idiot before he hollowed out. "Oh, he is in trouble.", Ornstein murmured to himself, picking up his spear and pulling the lever to get the elevator going.

To his disdain all the crystal hollows had been revived in the meantime. Of course, they still were undead. It was impossible to kill them. Most hollows would eventually stop moving, having truly given up and that was the closest to death an undead or hollow ever would manage. Only when they left behind their soul could they find real peace, but that wouldn't happen in a few hours, but needed several decades. Ornstein sighed. He had to fight his way through this place again. At least the channeler from earlier still laid there as a lifeless corpse.

Ornstein scanned the room. With his speed it should be easy for him to make a beeline for the stairs and take care of the snipers first before the others caught up to him and then he could use the lighting powers of his spears to stun them before taking them done one by one. The absence of the channeler truly made this a lot easier.

He kneeled down, spear in right hand and sprinted forwards, zigzagging when the arrows took aim at him and once he arrived at the stairs, managed to strike both of the snipers down there with one thrust before leaping to the one on the left stairs and then turning around to shoot the activated lighting powers of his spear in the group of crystal hollows that had followed him before taking them on one at a time.

At the end Ornstein remained victorious, even though he was sure he had suffered some cuts and bruises. Taking on about ten foes at once maybe had been a bit much after all. He should be more careful for now. He walked over and pulled the lever that called the elevator, supporting his weight on his spear while he waited. When the elevator arrived and Ornstein stepped on it, pulling the lever to get it going up, he took his time to look around and remind himself just how big the archives were.

"Where have been the cells again?", Ornstein asked himself. "Or maybe that little storm still is in the study room? No, I have heard him die. He must have been brought to a bonfire..."

After Ornstein had arrived at the top, he took care of the lone crystal hollow guarding the path to Seath's study room and proceeded his way to the fog gate. He stood in front of it, listening. Ornstein was sure, he could hear the breathing of the paledrake through it. It would be better not to enter through the fog gate. On one hand, he wasn't keen talking with Seath, on the other hand he didn't knew if the dragon would attack him on sight. Seath had gone mad over the years and Ornstein assumed it had only gotten worse over the course of his isolation. So the dragon slayer decided to head back to the elevator.

Ornstein got the elevator going and braced himself. The moment he saw another part of the archives in front of him he jumped off, rolled to dampen his fall and got up, looking around. Now he had to find his way through this labyrinth. With a deep sigh, Ornstein got on his way, weapon in both hands, determined to find this idiot and give him the scolding he deserved.

Tempest had tried to reach the corpse of the serpent man several times now and even managed to dislocate his shoulder trying it. At last the bonfire was near, so he could heal any wounds quickly, but that didn't made it hurt less. He probably looked like a complete idiot, lying flat on his stomach, face pressed to the bars and trying to reach the corpse of the serpent man with his arm.

"Alright, this will never work.", Tempest stood up from his awkward position and then let himself fall down on his rear with a clank. "I wonder how Ornstein would have handled this situation?" Tempest had the image of the dragon slayer clear in his mind in front of him, the lion armour, the long red ponytail and the iconic dragon slayer spear.

The spear... a spear had long reach! Tempest quickly ran to the bonfire to search through the items in his bottomless box. And he was in luck, because he found a spear in it. A short one, pretty sure that he had picked it up from one of the hollow soldiers in the undead burg. But it was long enough and should suffice.

So Tempest kneeled in front of the bars and carefully guided the spear to the corpse of the serpent men, trying to get a hold of it with the tip of the spear. It took him a few times and once he even managed to kick the corpse farther away so that he had to lay down on his stomach again but eventually the spear managed to get a hold of the corpse and Tempest was able to pull it near him.

"Finally.", he breathed out. Tempest was actually a bit unsure why he still needed to breath, maybe it was just a leftover from his living days and he couldn't get rid of the habit. Regardless, he finally had the desired item in reach and so he quickly worked to cut the keyring off the serpent man with a dagger, hoping that one of the keys would actually fit his cell door. And Tempest was in luck because the key he tried clicked and the door swung open.

"Yes.", Tempest called out victorious. "Now I have to find my way back to Ornstein..."

Tempest stepped out of the cell, rounded a corner and found himself in a large, round room, books were aligned at the walls everywhere, stacks over stacks of books. Tempest had to admit, the sight was breath taking. "So these are the archives.", he exclaimed and took a moment to just take in the sight.

The moment of calm soon ceased though, because a most horrible sound started to play, making Tempest cringe. The sound apparently came from a huge gramophone in the middle of the room. Tempest felt like it would be the best to go and switch it off, because that sound didn't deserve the term "music". He started to set one foot in front of the other when he saw several serpent man running at him. Quickly raising his weapon, preparing for a fight, the serpent man instead ran past him and climbed up a ladder Tempest hadn't noticed yet. He stared at them with raised brows for a while and once he had decided that he liked them up there and now could go turning of the gramophone without trouble, he saw about 15 things slithering towards him, making Tempest retract into his cell in horror.

Tempest stayed a few more minutes into his cell, trying to process what he just had seen. The body looked like a snake, the head looked like some kind of squid. Tempest remembered that Ornstein had spoken about Seath's experiment. Were this things experiments of his? Tempest left the cell again and hugged the wall until he could look into the round room again. The weird squid-snakes were still roaming around, but at least they were scattered now. When he didn't make too much noise, maybe they didn't see him. Or hear him. It was hard to determine how exactly this creatures would perceive their surroundings. Tempest tiptoed to one of them, but of course his armour clanked and the creature "saw" him before he could strike in surprise. Tempest decided to strike anyway, maybe a bit force would be right what would help him out of this situation and so he sliced at the creature while it withdrew it tentacle head. Just as Tempest was about to slice a second time, he could feel how the tentacles embraced him and he got lifted into a wet, gross grab. When Tempest was spit out by the creature, he quickly fumbled for his estus, taking a sip and rolled out of the way just in time before another attack could hit him. He got up and managed to got a third slice in which hurt the creature enough for it to collapse. Tempest tried to calm down his shaky body.

He surely never wanted to be grabbed by one of these things again but there were still loads of them left on the way down to the gramophone. Tempest decided it wasn't worth it. He sneaked away and instead headed to the direction of the ladder where the serpent man had ran to. He lifted his head to see them still up there. Great, when he would climb the ladder, they surely would send him down right away. But Tempest had the feeling that he could see a door behind them. He decided that taking on two serpent man was the lesser evil. And maybe he could even get an advantage?

Tempest roamed around in his belongings until he found a longbow and some arrows. He laid an arrow on the string, bend the bow and took aim. And even though Tempest was far away from being a sniper, he actually manage to hit one of the serpent man who hissed in pain. But it didn't collapse. Instead, it came down the ladder. Tempest cast his bow aside in an instant and drew his katana instead, brandishing it once the serpent man had reached the ground. Tempest seemed to be in luck, because the serpent man had been so surprised by his random movements, that he had managed to cut it down cleanly. The other serpent men, who still was up on the platform, seemed to consider coming down and then decided to just walk towards the door, leaving its back exposed. That was perfect for Tempest. He climbed up the ladder and managed to take the serpent man down with a clean back stab. And the best thing was, up here Tempest was save from the squid-snake-things. And he could open the door and leave this place now, this creepy gramophone got on his nerves. He leaned against the door to open it only to realize that it wouldn't bulk.

Of course the door had to be locked!

"Well, shit!", Tempest blurted out, falling on his rear once again. He had escaped his cell only to be locked into a room now. Tempest just leaned against the door, sulking.

Saying that Ornstein was pissed would be an understatement. The dragon slayer was FURIOUS. Navigating the archives had been a nightmare so far. Everything looked the same. The staircases could be rotated and then let to a completely new gallery. And the worst thing was, this place was practically riddled with crystal hollows, especially snipers and two of Seath's channelers also were there.

Ornstein didn't knew how long he had tried to navigate this place by now, but he knew that he had gained a new set of bruises, cuts and among them a few spell burns from the channeler's soul arrows. His armour prevented most lethal injuries at last, but that wasn't true for spells who easily would knock him down. At last the channelers didn't use the most strong spell out there. Ornstein was able to take quite a few hits.

But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. More than often Ornstein had abandoned the way he had pursued to chase after a crystallized hollow who once again would have managed to shot an arrow at him when he just had tried to climb up. Because this place was such a maze, Ornstein had decided to just climb over the book shelves or from gallery to gallery, whichever way was the most suitable, but that also exposed him to arrows, making him bleeding from quite a few wounds.

Now Ornstein was pretty sure that he had laid waste to pretty much every crystal hollow in the archives now. One of the channelers laid dead in a corner, the other one somewhere into hiding, probably not keen about getting a shock from Ornstein's dragon slayer spear again. What Ornstein hadn't found, however, where the prison cells or the Undead. Ornstein was sure he had searched through every nook of the archives thrice times already. When he hadn't spent his time being lost. It was something, not many knew, but... when Ornstein didn't knew the area very well like Anor Londo or the cathedral for example, he was prone to get lost. The face of the dragon slayer turned to a tint of red when he thought about his young silver knight self getting hopelessly lost in the cathedral.

Just as Ornstein was reminiscent about embarrassing silver knight stories, he passed the balcony again. Ornstein stopped dead in his tracks and walked a few steps backward, leaning on the wall to look outside. He hadn't even considered walking onto the balcony, because why would Seath have prison cells outside, but that only meant he had overlooked the very obvious path to the higher towers of the archives.

"Damnit, Seath.", Ornstein shouted out, his gauntlet connecting with his lion helmet in an attempt to grab his own idiocy. Of course the paledrake would have the prison cells at the most high up place in the archives. He should have known it. Ornstein quickly started to follow the path, taking care of some more crystal hollows on his way.

Soon, Ornstein stood in front of a large door. He extended his hand to open it and...

"Alright, enough sulking around now.", Tempest jumped up with newfound determination in his chest. He surely would be able to find a key to this door somewhere in this room. They had be able to leave and come into this room somehow and Tempest doubted that the paledrake just locked his subordinates into the room. Or at least he hoped so.

Tempest eyed the strange squid-snake-thing still patrolling the pathway and got an idea. They looked like they wouldn't take kindly to get their skin dried out. And Tempest had a bit of pyromancy at his hands. Not much, he had to admit. But it could help him deal with some of them a little faster. Just as Tempest readied the pyromancy flame, he heard a kick against the door and an angry rant.

"Damn, of course it is locked! Why would I have expected anything other from Seath? He always has been a pain in the ass with everything he did. Literally!"

That, very clearly, was the voice of Ornstein. Even though Tempest barely could belief that this specific words had come out of the mouth of the dragon slayer in this order. Flabbergasted, Tempest opened his own mouth to speak: "Ornstein?"

There was a long silence at the other side of the door before the dragon slayer spoke again. "At least I found you.", he said in a very calm voice and then continued in a voice dripping with reproachful energy. "You hopefully know that you are in trouble."

Tempest physically winced. "So, from what I have heard, you don't have a key either. I just wanted to go and search for one.", he shouted through the door.

"No thanks, if I let you search for the key I am stuck here for several more hours, idiot.", Ornstein replied. "I am just gonna destroy the door."

"You, WHAT?!", Tempest exclaimed, looking at the small platform he was on, panic rose in his chest when he heard the buzzing sound of lightning and he small Undead quickly jumped down and held on the ladder when the door burst into splinters. Tempest looked up to see the figure of the dragon slayer striding through the door, casually brushing off dust of his armour.

"There you are, IDIOT!", the dragon slayer shouted the last word and then grabbed Tempest's wrist, pulling him ruggedly up on the platform. "Did you know what I had to go through to come here? Only because you couldn't listen to simple orders?"

Tempest opened his mouth to say something in his defense, but was silenced when Ornstein just started to walk with him in tow, his metal armour clanking on the marble plates of the archive.

"Wait, ouch, where are we going?", Tempest asked and continued to plead to walk on his own and not being dragged anymore the whole way. Only when they had arrived back at Anor Londo (and Tempest had the assumption that the dragon slayer had took a wrong turn at least three times), Ornstein finally released Tempest by throwing him harshly on the ground.

"Having lost to you must been the biggest disgrace of my life.", the dragon slayer started. "You rush forward without thinking, you barely know how to fight, you rely on your healing potion far too much and you aren't even able to listen to simple commands."

Tempest shrunk down under the harsh words of the dragon slayer, deep inside him knowing that every single one was true. Tempest totally expected for Ornstein to just leave him here to finally hollow out.

What he didn't expect where the following words.

"I am going to train you!"


	8. Chapter 8

Summary: Ornstein gives Tempest a bath. The training begins. Tempest questions the cooking skills of the dragon slayer.

(Author's note: Oh boy, time for some fluff ^^ I want to get them into friends and lovers eventually, so we have to start somewhere, no?)

"Train me?", Tempest stood up, still trying to process what his ears had just heard.

"I have spoken clearly the first time. You definitely need to be shaped into a warrior.", Ornstein surveyed Tempest and added in a snarky tone: "I would like to shape you into a knight, but I feel that is beyond hope."

"So, um, what do you want me to do?", Tempest asked.

"First, it is time to get this armour off you.", Ornstein came nearer and started undressing Tempest, who lowly squeaked in protest. Once every piece of armour had been clattered to the ground, Ornstein, who had grabbed Tempest wrist into his own gauntlet, stared at him aghast.

"Right, I forgot that this happens to you when you die. Please reverse this.", he said, averting his gaze.

"Um, fine.", Tempest left briefly to reverse his hollowing at the nearby bonfire, the firekeeper staring at him, after all, he only was clothed with a loin cloth now, before returning to Ornstein, starting to freeze a bit, being underdressed like this. While a lot of his senses turned off because he was undead, his blood still was flowing, hollowed out or not and naturally his body tried to stay warm.

When Tempest returned to Ornstein, the dragon slayer stared at him. "By the lord, I thought you had the decency to get properly dressed, why are you running around half naked?!"

"Um...", Tempest started. He wasn't even sure why he hadn't put any clothes on. He had worn this armour for so long that it didn't even occur to him. "I thought it was part of the training.", he finally brought out. Ornstein however, still stared at him.

"Ugh, I thought it was your hollowed out form that was reeking so much, but apparently your last bath has been ages ago. Look at all this dirt.", he scolded while gesturing with both hands to Tempest body, which certainly was covered in quite a bit dirt. "I certainly won't train you, when you stink up the air like that. It is time for you to take a bath."

Before Tempest could protest, the dragon slayer had picked him up with one hand and just slumped him over his shoulder, heading for the cathedral. While being carried like this, Tempest noticed that Ornstein seemed to limp a tiny little bit. Guilt washed over Tempest. Ornstein probably had gotten injured when he had been searching for him in the archives.

Once Ornstein had entered the cathedral, he headed straight for the part that Tempest didn't even had noticed when first having entered the marvelous building. At least this time he didn't had to be afraid of any silver knights. Tempest admired a bit how Ornstein was able to find his way in this big cathedral so easily when he remembered how often the dragon slayer had took wrong turns in the archives. Well, Ornstein had lived here for a millenia, of course he would know his way around here.

In front of a particular room, Ornstein finally put Tempest down.

"Wait here.", he said and then undid his armour. Wait wait wait... did Ornstein intend to go into the bath with him? Tempest assumption only seemed to verify when the dragon slayer also attempted to undo the shirt he wore and neatly folded and laid it into a shelf near the door to the room. Tempest already braced himself for the dragon slayer to let fall his trousers, but he simply picked Tempest back again, entered the room and the next thing Tempest knew was that he had been thrown into hot water.

He emerged from the water, coughing and spitting it out where it had entered his lungs. Looking down at him, Tempest realized that he didn't wore his loin cloth anymore. Staring at the side of the big pool, where Ornstein stood, he could see that the dragon slayer casually threw it on the ground.

"That was a bit far.", Ornstein called over to him. "Come back."

Shrugging, Tempest came back to the side where Ornstein was kneeling. He actually had to swim there, the water felt quite deep for him. He figured, it was because the bath had been made for the likes of Ornstein, who naturally were a lot taller than humans. As soon as he was at Ornstein's side, he asked: "So, to actually clean myself, I need a washing cloth and soap.", Tempest said. The dragon slayer didn't say anything. Instead, Ornstein himself drew out the desired items and started to rub Tempest himself.

"Look at this dirt. Just how long has it been since you cleaned yourself?", Ornstein asked with a wrinkled nose.

"I don't think I had any bath since I left the Undead Asylum.", Tempest answered truthfully.

"Gross. You have been to i _Blighttown!_ "/i, Ornstein practically shouted the last word while continuing to scrub the dirt away from him. Tempest in fact noticed a few cuts, bruises and what seemed to be freshly clotted bleeds on the dragon slayer's bare chest along a myriad of old scars, mostly burns. His chest tightened when he laid his eyes on a particular big scar across his chest, the one that had struck the dragon slayer down. Ornstein suddenly stopped scrubbing and said: "Stop staring."

Tempest quickly avoided his gaze and being completely at the mercy of the dragon slayer, didn't dare to say another word, until Ornstein handed a fresh washing cloth to him. "Do your private parts yourself.", he said and sat down, closely watching Tempest.

Tempest accepted the washing cloth but before he actually started to clean himself, he asked: "Um, do you intent to watch me doing this?"

"Oh, sorry, I used to give the little ones bathes and when I kept my gaze off them they would just escape. I just can't get rid of this habit.", Ornstein said and turned around to give Tempest some privacy. Tempest had no clue about who Ornstein even had talked. Did he had kids once? Little siblings? Or was he referring to pets like a dog? Once Tempest was done, he exclaimed it loudly and asked if he was allowed to leave the pool now.

"Look at all this dirt.", Ornstein gestured to the part of the pool that had practically blackened by all the dirt before giving Tempest a towel. "I am going to find a few clothes for you, just don't wander away." With that words the dragon slayer left and Tempest was left alone to dry his body off.

Tempest just had finished rubbing his hair dry when the dragon slayer returned and tossed a few black leather clothes in front of him. "Unfortunately, Ciaran's clothes are the only ones that may fit you.", he said. Tempest picked the clothes up. Nothing too bad, just some simple pants and a vest. No underwear though. Well, Tempest would hopefully be able to wash his loincloth later. It still laid on the side of the pool.

After slipping into the clothes, it became apparent that they had been made for a female body, but they fit Tempest well enough. He felt both lighter and a lot more unprotected without the elite knight armour. After Tempest was dressed, Ornstein, who had put on his armour (and hopefully his shirt) back again in the meantime, nodded in satisfaction and ordered him to follow. They ended up at the large area near the bonfire.

"Pull out your weapon and show it to me.", Ornstein ordered and Tempest did so, pulling the Katana out and presented it to the dragon slayer. He took it and eyed it thoroughly.

"A weapon from the east. Has a nice edge to it, very sharp blade, makes foes bleed quickly. However, breaks easily. How did you even come into the possession of such a weapon? They aren't exactly common here."

That actually was a rather funny story. In the Undead Burg, Tempest had found a merchant but unfortunately had lacked any souls to actually buy anything from him at the moment, so he politely declined his wares, which only prompted the merchant to say out aloud, that he should fall off a cliff. Annoyed by such a mean thing, Tempest had shoved the merchant and accidentally scratched him with the tip of his sword, which the merchant had took as cue to attack him with this particular katana. But before he could do anything, the merchant had lost balance and fell down the burg. Tempest had picked up the katana later at the place where he had died. The merchant never appeared again. He either moved on or had become hollow.

Tempest opened his mouth and said "Well.", intending to tell this story, when the dragon slayer already interrupted him. "Show me which other weapons you have."

Tempest closed his mouth and went for the bottomless box at the bonfire, returning with every weapon he had picked up so far. It weren't too much. A combination of swords, a mace, an axe, some spears. Tempest actually expected that Ornstein picked up one of the spears, but instead, he went for a straight sword.

"Straight swords are a good weapon to start with.", Ornstein explained. "You can use a very versatile movement with them and they are quite sturdy." Ornstein swung the sword around a bit, did a thrust attack, a slash, a slice and series of quick slashes in demonstration. Tempest only stared at awe. This knight in front of him really knew what he was doing. He felt like he had always just blindly swung his weapon around.

"However.", Ornstein continued, "The best sword won't do anything when its bearer can't wield it correct. Here.", he tossed the sword to Tempest. "I need to know how well you handle yourself in a duel so that I have a base to start." Ornstein picked up another sword for himself, leaning his dragon slayer spear against a wall.

"What, I shall duel you?", Tempest asked aghast.

"You already won against me, remember?", the dragon slayer replied. "Now prepare yourself."

That was the only warning Tempest got before Ornstein lunged at him and struck him with his own sword. Tempest winced in pain and rolled away, a method that had been rather effective for dodging the strikes of his mostly far larger foes.

Ornstein turned around and swung his sword at him, Tempest quickly threw his own in the air, trying to block the blow, but got quickly overwhelmed by the quick follow up strikes that the dragon slayer pressured onto him. After what felt like less a minute, he laid on the ground, the sword tip on his throat and Ornstein simply said: "Dead."

Tempest was grateful when the dragon slayer removed the sword tip from his throat, casually leaning it over his shoulder, when Tempest crawled back up. Was this really the same guy he had fought in the cathedral? It felt like the Ornstein the cathedral had either been weakened or had been going easy on him. No, Tempest didn't think he did go easy on him. Sometimes he had been killed in two strikes. But when Ornstein had put this pressure on him when with the executioner, Tempest wouldn't have stand the slightest chance.

"Everything is off about your stance.", Ornstein said, coming closer to Tempest. "You need to correct it." The dragon slayer forcefully touched Tempest arms, legs and waist and bent him into a what felt like a very awkward stance for Tempest.

"Hold this for 30 minutes, then we can continue.", Ornstein said, leaning against the wall next to his spear.

While Tempest tried to hold the pose Ornstein had forced him into, he had some time to observe the dragon slayer. After a short while, Ornstein put the sword down he had used to duel with and instead picked up his spear again, just staring blankly at nothing. Or at least his lion helmet made it look like this. Tempest didn't like this awkward silence and decided to try for some smalltalk.

"I didn't knew you were so good with a sword. I thought the spear was your favoured weapon."

"The spear is my favoured weapon, but I have trained the silver knights for a millennia to use swords. Of course I know how to wield a sword."

"So when you favour spears, why do you want to train me with a sword?"

"Better basics. Easier to teach. Spears are more specialized. By the way, your stance is crumbling."

That was true, Tempest wasn't able to hold it any longer and pretty much stumbled on the ground.

"Ouch, my entire body feels like hurting.", he complained.

Ornstein sighed beneath him. "That could take some time..."

And so they continued the session, Ornstein occasionally coming over to Tempest to forcefully correct his stance (Tempest swore he could hear his bones creak). This procedure continued until it was night all of a sudden. Tempest hadn't even noticed that the sun had gone down. Instead, it was like someone had pulled a switch and made the day into the night. "That was sudden...", Tempest mentioned.

"Gwyndolin has gone to sleep, then we should call it a day too." Ornstein said and started to get into motion, walking towards the cathedral. Tempest followed him.

"So, uh, why was it dark all of a sudden? What has it to do with the dark sun going to sleep?", Tempest asked Ornstein.

"Hmm.. I thought you already had found this out.", Ornstein said. "Didn't you notice something strange about the sun while we were out there?"

"The night came far too sudden, I didn't even saw the sun move.", Tempest said and it hit him like a brick. "The sun didn't move! Not a single time until I have arrived here. It must have been several days! Why didn't I ask myself why it was never night until now?"

"So you figured that this town is covered in an eternal dusk. It always was the time when Anor Londo looked most beautiful."

"So it's an illusion?", Tempest asked, having to make an effort to keep up with Ornstein's long steps. Tempest looked in the sky to see a risen full moon. "A full moon, a dark sun...", he whispered to himself. He glanced at Ornstein but the dragon slayer apparently was done talking with him.

Back at the cathedral, Ornstein assigned a room to Tempest. It clearly once had been used as a guest room, aside from a bed, a cupboard and a table with chairs nothing was in it. Tempest didn't need to sleep, but lying down on a bed would be more comfortable when he had to wait for the night to pass.

Besides showing Tempest the room, Ornstein hadn't give him any further instructions. While Tempest's bones and muscles did hurt, a quick sip of Estus eased the pain and he didn't feel like lying on the bed for several hours, so Tempest decided to explore the cathedral on his own. He was just walking through the hallways, when he smelled a horrible stench, like someone burned something up really bad. Apparently, having a bath made him sensitive to scents again, after Blighttown he had pretty much given up on using his nose ever again. It hadn't occurred to him that his own stench had been at fault for this.

Tempest followed the stench to find an open door. Silently, he peaked in and saw Ornstein sitting at the table of a room that very much looked like a kitchen, reluctantly staring at whatever it was that he had cooked up. Seeing the kitchen, it itched in Tempest's hand. It had been so long, far too long. But the sight of the dragon slayer at the table, trying to eat an awful meal, made him reluctant to go in. He didn't know if Ornstein simply was a terrible chef or if this was some form of self punishment, so the small Undead decided to move on.

The next day they continued their training. This time Tempest managed to hold the stance the desired time, so that Ornstein was satisfied with moving on to the next step. Which consisted in drillling every possible way a sword could be swung into Tempest's head. And the dragon slayer was a strict one, Tempest couldn't count how many times he had to repeat a certain strike until Ornstein was finally satisfied. Like the day before, they only stopped after the day had switched to the night.

This evening Tempest peaked into the kitchen again, seeing Ornstein eating a dish that made his nose turn up. This continued for several days until Tempest was sure about one thing.

This wasn't some kind of self-punishment, Ornstein simply was a terrible cook and his growing reluctance to eat day after day surely showed that he didn't enjoy his meals. In Tempest a plan took shape.

The small Undead had snuck into the kitchen before the dragon slayer would get up and rummaged around in the supplies. To his surprise, he saw that there were plenty. There were so much ingredients, he never had seen so many at home. Tempest gathered everything he needed and got ready to prepare them, cutting up vegetables and meat, getting spices ready that were neatly stacked on a rack. He quickly put the one labeled with bone dust away though, putting it far behind the others, so that he never would accidentally grab it.

Tempest fired up the oven with his pyromancy and intended to put a pot on it, but he was too small to actually reach it. Looking around, Tempest spooted a footstool in the corner and put it in front of the oven, stepping on it, getting the pot ready and starting to cook the stew with the prepared ingredients. Even though Tempest himself didn't taste a lot anymore, his sense of smell was still excellent and so he should be able to dish out something nice. At least it would taste better than whatever it was that Ornstein had been cooking. Soon, the kitchen was filled with a nice smell. After the stew was done, Tempest covered the pot with a lid to keep it warm and waited.

Soon enough, the dragon slayer entered the kitchen, hair neatly tied back into a ponytail, but not in his iconic armour yet, instead, in that simple linen clothes he usually wore underneath. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Tempest leaning against the wall. "What the...?"

"Surprise.", Tempest blurted out, removing the lid of the stew and filling up a plate with it. "You have never asked me, but I am quite a decent chef. I thought I should thank you for training me with a little meal."

The brows of the dragon slayer furrowed, but then his gaze softened. Tempest put the plate on the table, placed a spoon in it and retreated to the wall again. Ornstein came over to take a look. He sat down, stared into the stew for a few minutes and then put the spoon up to have a taste of it. Tempest vibrated with excitement.

"That tastes... nice.", Ornstein said. "Not as good at Smough's, but... it's warm."

Tempest was satisfied. That felt like the most of a compliment he could get out of the dragon slayer's mouth.

"I am going to the training grounds and wait there for you.", Tempest said, standing up from leaning against the wall and approaching the kitchen door. When he was almost through it, he heard the dragon slayer say: "Wait..."

Tempest turned around. "Yes?"

"Would you cook again..? Not.. not because I like it very much or so, but... it is still better than mine, so..."

A big grin flashed over Tempest's face. "Of course.", he said.

(Author's note: Time for Tsundere Ornstein. Also, I want to thank Sekiro for teaching me how sword fights are looking like! Thank you, Sekiro!)


	9. Chapter 9

Summary: Tempest's training continues. He tries to talk to Ornstein. He learns some interesting facts about Seath.

(Author's note: A fair warning, this chapter contains a few very special headcanons about Seath and it could give you weird mental images in your head.

Also please look at this amazing piece of fanart the wonderful Velvialines from tumblr did for me: post/184978157488/littlest-storm-a-piece-of-fanart)

"Your stance is all wrong."

Their swords clung at each other while Ornstein was forcing Tempest against the wall.

"Unnecessary movement.", Ornstein shouted while Tempest tried to lift his sword for a counter attack when Ornstein had removed his own for the next strike.

"And dead again.", Ornstein finished, when he had managed to force Tempest on the ground, sword on his throat. The Undead slowly got up, growling.

"It would be easier when you would let me dodge.", he complained.

"I am teaching you correct swordplay, little storm. I never said it would be easy." Ornstein picked up the sword and tossed it to Tempest. "Again."

Tempest mindlessly caught the sword and got into stance. Since they had left the archives around four days had passed and Ornstein gave his all to train Tempest, drilling everything into the mind of the small Undead.

"How much longer do we have to do this?", Tempest asked and watched as his sword was sent flying.

"Now would have been the time to evade, you are unarmed.", Ornstein hissed. "And dead.", he said when once again his sword touched a vital point of Tempest. Tempest himself was grateful that Ornstein didn't actually kill him, even though he would come back to life. Ornstein probably preferred training someone who didn't look like a dried out raisin all the time.

"And for your question, how long we have to do this, as long as it takes.", Ornstein continued. "The more you try, the faster we are done."

Tempest sighed and picked up his sword again, turning around and countering the first attack of Ornstein, because in the meantime he had learned that Ornstein wouldn't wait for him to declare that he's ready.

"Oh, little storm, you are learning." Tempest was sure Ornstein had a grin under this helmet of his and actually felt a little bit of pride swelling up in his chest, which got into panic quickly when the next attack of the dragon slayer hit and ripped a large wound.

Even though Ornstein wasn't killing Tempest, he wasn't holding back when it came to attacking and so Tempest Estus was constantly used during this training sessions.

"In a real fight you won't have time to fumble for this thing to drink. You need to wait for the right moment when you have something like a healing potion.", Ornstein explained, while he waited for the wound to heal. Tempest had the assumption in the future Ornstein wouldn't let him drink the Estus freely anymore, but would apply more pressure on him.

Tempest fell onto the ground after the wound healed, panting. "I am done for. Can we stop for now?", he begged.

"Hmph, it isn't even dark yet.", Ornstein said, but a loud growling of his stomach betrayed the dragon slayer. Tempest couldn't help but grin at the sound, it showed that the dragon slayer was very much a living person and not some kind of unreachable legend from the histories.

"You haven't heard anything.", Ornstein growled and Tempest was sure the face of the dragon slayer was as red as his hair under his helmet. He got awfully easy embarrassed. That was the first thing Tempest had learned about Ornstein in this few days.

"Let's call it a day and continue tomorrow." Ornstein collected the swords and brought them to a nearby weapons stand, then turned around to head for the cathedral.

"It is boring training with swords all the time, can't we train with spears tomorrow?", Tempest casually asked as they went back to the cathedral.

"You haven't even mastered the sword yet."

"Maybe I am just suited for spears better, who knows?"

"If you insist. But you are gonna regret this."

This time, Tempest was sure that a grin had washed over the dragon slayer's face.

At first when Tempest had made the meals for Ornstein, he had retreated and watched from the kitchen door, which had annoyed the dragon slayer and so he had stepped to the side so that he wasn't in sight anymore, but still tried to watch Ornstein. Which hadn't worked, because the dragon slayer had come to the door and just stared him down with crossed arms and then said, if Tempest wanted company, he should just come sit at the table.

This was when Tempest assumed that Ornstein maybe was the one who wanted the company, but of course the dragon slayer wouldn't admit it. And so it had become common for Tempest to accompany the dragon slayer during his meals. Tempest himself couldn't taste anything anymore and he also was never feeling hungry since he became Undead, but he very much enjoyed the reactions the dragon slayer had about his meals. Also, meal time was a good opportunity for some small talk.

"It is amazing that you have so many supplies left even after several hundreds year.", Tempest had said one day while cooking.

"Gwyndolin has their methods.", Ornstein replied to this, watching from the kitchen door.

Today, also, Ornstein was standing in the kitchen door, watching as Tempest prepared the meal. And that after Ornstein himself had gotten annoyed when Tempest had done this.

"You can come in, you know.", Tempest said while cutting vegetables.

"I can't.", Ornstein simply replied. "It's to soon.", he added, very quietly. Tempest shrugged. Ornstein seemed to have his reason. The small Undead was already contempt with Ornstein being much more accommodating these last few days. The dragon slayer genuinely seemed to enjoy training Tempest, even though he acted like it was the most annoying thing during training sessions. Tempest felt that he already had looked through the thick shell of armour the dragon slayer wore. The man behind this armour was much softer than anyone would think and Tempest felt determined to get this shell to crack one day.

"We are going to be friends.. and maybe.. more than that...", Tempest murmured into the pot and dreamily stirred the contents.

"What are you murmuring about?", Ornstein asked from the door, startling Tempest who managed to knock the pot down. With a flash, Ornstein was at his side and caught the pot, saying: "Be more careful. You are only making a mess like this."

"Thank you.", Tempest said, flabbergasted, the spoon that he used to stir high up in the air. Even though any injuries he had could be healed with a few sips from his estus flask, getting a pot of scalding hot soup over him would have hurt a lot.

"I didn't save you, I just didn't want to waste the food.", Ornstein murmured, setting the pot back down on the stove, averting his gaze. "Also, I didn't want to clean up a mess.", he added, wanderin back to stand in the kitchen door.

"Don't worry, you can leave any mess to me. I am quite good at houseworks.", Tempest cheerfully said and put the prepared spices into the soup. He then put the lid onto the pot, jumped down from the footstool and wandered over to the table.

"It will need to cook a while before it is ready."

Reluctantly Ornstein came in and seated himself down opposite from Tempest.

"So.", Tempest started. Ornstein rarely ever started a conversation. "I know you are still training me and I am already thankful for that, but one day we have to go back and eventually slay this dragon, Seath, right?"

Tempest saw how Ornstein's green eyes locked on him, very good, he had his attention.

"Yes? That is the task you have been assigned to. Collecting the fragments of the lord soul and Seath has one of them."

"Yes, I know, we have gone over this already. It is just... you know a lot more about this world and the lords than me or any history book could tell me. What can you tell me about Seath?"

Ornstein seemed to consider a short while, before crossing his arms and speaking: "The first thing that comes to mind when it comes to Seath is, that he was a traitor to his own race. Granted, with his information we were able to win the dragon war and that was also the reason he was granted dukedom and the archives."

"I know, that is in every history book.", Tempest said, glancing back to the pot to see if he would need to intervene.

"I never liked Seath.", Ornstein continued. "I don't know everything he did in these archives, but it were surely some atrocious things. Sometimes maiden vanished and we could never proof it, but I am sure Seath took them. When we asked him to hoard Undead before they got send to the asylum, I am sure we got less back then we originally handed over. Oh sorry, that must be a sour spot."

Tempest had looked at Ornstein with a blank look. Being undead himself and having brought to the asylum, it was indeed a sore spot. But it wasn't like Tempest couldn't understand their reasons. Seeing what a dangerous land Lordran was, now that it was swarmed with hollows... "Don't worry about it, please continue."

"Seath misses scales, I am sure you have seen this when you barged into his study room.", Ornstein said and glared at Tempest before adding a "little storm."

"I have seen that he was covered by crystals .", Tempest answered. "That was before I got killed by his crystal breath."

"This information is new.", Ornstein murmured. "He must have tried to replace his scales with twinkling titanite. Seath kind of obsessed over it. The crystal golem we fought must have been a side effect of his studies, as well as all the crystallized hollows."

Tempest grew impatient: "These are all hard facts. What about Seath's character? Like he acts or what he does? Is there something we can use against him?"

"Seath is a cautious one.", Ornstein continued. "I once heard him say that he finally has found the way to immortality, but that has been long ago. I have to assume that he has an item or something hidden somewhere tied to it."

Tempest nodded. "Anything else?"

Ornstein stayed silent for a while before opening his mouth again: "Seath did had almost everyone in Anor Londo inside him or was inside them, but I don't know how we should use this against him."

Tempest jaw dropped. "What?!", he started, face flushing to red. From all the things he would have expected, this was the least and even more, the least words he would have expected out of the mouth of the dragon slayer. Still trying to process this information, Tempest continued: "Have you...?"

"No.", Ornstein shut him off before he could even finish the question. "I said almost everyone. I wasn't one of them.", he huffed, crossed his arms and turned away. "What do you take for me, seeking to share the bed with a dragon?"

"I am sorry.", Tempest shrunk down, but then curiosity take over again. "Just how?"

Ornstein deeply sighed. "I shouldn't have said anything, but I have brought this about myself, so I will explain it to you.

Seath invented a magic that made his form closer to that of a god or a divine. This is how he did it."

"A magic like this exists?!", Tempest asked excitedly. "And Seath used it to..."

"Yes.", Ornstein nodded before Tempest could even finish the sentence.

"...How did you find out?"

"When your silver knights flock to the archives every evening, you are starting to get suspicious.", Ornstein started to tell. "So one day I followed them silently and when I finally had my turn to speak with Seath, the dragon was far too delighted. As if he wasn't expecting to see me at all. Well, I hadn't any intention to go there normally, he is still a dragon and playing chess with him was just awful."

Tempest now hung on the lips of the dragon slayer. A story from his time in an age where Anor Londo was still in bloom and even though the content was... questionable to say the least.. Tempest already was invested in it. And it was rare to get the dragon slayer so talkative.

"And then he asked me how I preferred it and that was when I understood.", Ornstein continued. "Of course I denied. Seath still tried to persuade me, but he didn't succeed. He stopped when I threatened to put my spear between his eyes." Ornstein briefly paused. "Of course Seath was under Lord Gwyn's protection but the threat still worked. Seath probably knew that I would have done it even when it would have meant punishment.

And thus I found out what it was my silver knights were doing in the archives." He averted his eyes and Tempest could see the hue of red on his cheeks. Of course it had been embarrassing for Ornstein to speak about this.

"It is kind of impressive for him to run a one-dragon-brothel.", Tempest dropped without thinking and caught Ornstein's glare, shrinking down again, quickly hurrying to the pot to check the temperature.

"I would like to give you a knock for this, but sadly you are right. In short, Seath was one thirsty dragon.", Ornstein said. "But like I said, how should we use this against him? I for sure, won't strip my armour in front of him and lie lascivious on the ground."

The thought of Ornstein lying lascivious on the ground without his armour almost gave Tempest a nose bleed and he quickly stirred the soup while pressing a hand against his nose, trying to get the hotness in his head away.

"That is the least bit of facts about Seath I would have expected.", Tempest said, preparing a plate to put the soup in.

"You asked for it, now don't blame me when you can't get the mental image out of your head.", Ornstein said. Tempest came over and put the soup down in front of Ornstein. "Enjoy your meal.", he said and sat down at the opposite of Ornstein again.

After a while of silent eating, Ornstein suddenly spoke: "What's wrong? Your face looks kind of cramped."

"Huh?", Tempest hadn't even noticed that he had made a face. "Oh, I am just processing the fact you told me that Seath is basically a hoe."

"Yes, you can call him that, in a blunt way.", Ornstein said, taking another sip of the soup. "There were rumours he did it to make Lord Gwyn jealous. Seath had this very obvious, large crush on our Lord and he was the only one to not notice it."

Tempest was glad that he didn't eat or drink anything, because he would have spat it out otherwise: "Excuse me?!"

"Seath had a crush on Lord Gwyn, how hard is that to understand?", Ornstein said, an annoying glance fell into Tempest's direction. "Or have you never heard that a men could be attracted to another men?"

"No, that's not it." Far from it actually, Tempest very well knew how it was to feel attracted to another men. After all, it had been like this for him his entire life. Also, it was more a dragon having a crush on a god, but Tempest felt like he shouldn't point this out.

"It is just, Gw.. Lord Gwyn had children and a wife. That is very well known."

"Correct and this is the reason why Gwyn never spared another glance at Seath. He was heartbroken after his wife died and never wanted to enter another relationship."

"... Also, Seath probably wouldn't have been the best choice. With him, you know..." Tempest made a respective gesture.

"Now you are getting the gist of it.", Ornstein grinned.

Tempest had gotten a room and a bed assigned by Ornstein, but since he was undead, he didn't need sleep. The dragon slayer however, still very much needed his sleep. Tempest found it excruciating boring to just wait the night lying on the bed, so he made it his habit to explore the cathedral in the nights.

The cathedral looked so much smaller when Tempest had searched his way to the great hall, to fight Ornstein and Smough. He hadn't even noticed how many hallways there have been, how large this building actually was. Or maybe he shouldn't have find them, maybe it was the doing of Dark Sun Gwyndolin and they simply had hidden every hallway he shouldn't find behind an illusion. After all, going through Anor Londo and receiving the lord vessel had been a mere test.

Thinking about this, while Tempest wandered the hallways, he started to feel incredible sorry for Ornstein. He must have been aware about this and was still tasked with fighting a battle he eventually had to lose. He probably had already found peace in dying at this place and then Tempest came and failed to give him the kill he desired. Tempest suddenly understood why the dragon slayer had been so mad at him.

After all, Tempest knew very well how it was not being able to die properly.

While Tempest was lost in his thoughts, he crossed a door that he hadn't seen before. Curiously, he opened it and slipped into the room.

Tempest gaze fell on a large table with a set of chairs next to it, one of them being particular large. A stack of paperwork was put down on the table, next to it were laying a few scattered pieces of paper, looking like notes, reminding Tempest of the orange soap stone messages Undeads from another world would carve into the ground.

But what was the most notable thing where the big wooden boards that stood around the table, along where the chairs where and when Tempest went to investigate, what stared at him were awesome accurate depictions of the knights of Gwyn.

Lord's Blade Ciaran, Artorias the Abysswalker and Hawkeye Gough were all staring at him, carefully painted, each stroke seemed to carry the weight of a thousand memories. Tempest slowly walked around them, taking them in. There wasn't a wooden board that depicted a painting of Ornstein.

"I wonder if he uses this room when he feels lonely.", Tempest mused, sitting down on the table and scanning the messages, taking one of them and folding it open to see the contents.

It were encouraging messages. Each and every one of them signed with a different name. Each and every one of them addressing the recipient as captain. Tempest flipped through a few more of them until he came to ones which weren't signed anymore. Instead, the handwriting was always the same and it were little messages and notes that encouraged the dragon slayer to partake in a certain activity.

Ornstein had mentioned that he and the executioner had been in a relationship, so Tempest assumed that these were from Smough. He quickly laid the notes back on the table, feeling a bit bad for having seen something that intimidate and quickly left the room.

Tempest continued his trek through the cathedral and stopped once he came at a place which probably had been used for the roll call, near the silver knights quarters. There was a big blackboard and a table with a wooden box on it, which had a slit, as if someone could put something into it. Tempest wondered if the notes he had found originated from this box.

It wasn't really important right now though and so he shrugged and decided to get a book to read until Ornstein awoke. The library of the cathedral paled in comparison to the dukes's archives, but there were still quite a few books there. Tempest mostly enjoyed reading the history books, totally intending to ask Ornstein about what was true and what was exaggerated .

The next day at breakfast, when Tempest had sat down at his usual position opposite from Ornstein, he asked the question he was the most curious about: "You were once the knight of the sunfirstborn, right? What was he like? He isn't mentioned in any book anymore. I wonder how people even knew he ever existed."

When Ornstein visibly froze, Tempest knew he had made a mistake.

"We don't talk about the master here.", Ornstein replied coldly. "And don't ever ask me about him again."

That must have been a touchy subject. Tempest muttered an apology and spent the rest of the breakfast half hidden under the table. He started to wonder if there had been something more between them. Ornstein was around a thousand years old, Tempest hardly could believe that he had only one partner. On the other hand, looking at Ornstein, Tempest could very well believe that this guy would stay abstinent for hundreds of years. He just eradicated that aura of correctness, mostly when in armour. His composure only seemed to crack a tiny little bit when he was outside or when he thought that nobody watched him.

"It is as if dragon slayer Ornstein is a persona...", Tempest muttered, unaware, that he had said it out aloud when he felt Ornstein's piercing gaze on him.

"You better leave now.", Ornstein said and Tempest knew that he had screwed up, again. With another muttered apology, Tempest left and decided to wait at the training grounds, sighing internally, because he expected that Ornstein would be particular hard to him today.

When the dragon slayer arrived a little bit later, Tempest was surprised to see that he actually had brought spears instead of swords. Ornstein tossed a spear to Tempest which the little Undead caught and nearly lost balance, quickly using the long shaft of the spear to readjust himself.

"So.", Ornstein started. "Even though I think it would be better to continue training with swords instead, I must admit, that it is a good idea to branch out to other weapons and see if you have a knack for them." He presented his own spear. Not the dragon slayer spear, a regular silver knight spear. Tempest noticed that he had been given a silver knightspear too.

"When it comes to spears, you lose some of the versatility of a sword.", Ornstein explained further. "But you gain a lot of range. And when you use a shield, it is easy to continue fighting even when you raise your shield." Ornstein stopped for a short while. "I don't use shields though, I always found them to be restricting. And instead of only talking, let me demonstrate what you can do with a spear."

"Yes, sir.", Tempest answered enthusiastically.

"Thrust attacks are the most common type of attacks with spears.", Ornstein said and thrusted his spear forward. "It is especially useful to get a mounted foe on the ground. It was also especially useful to stab a dragon in the eye with it."

"Next, you can also swipe with your spear.", Ornstein demonstrated the mentioned motion with a wide swing. "With swords, swipe attacks are more for cutting. With spears, it depends if you use the shaft or the blade. Either way, it is guaranteed to get your foe off balance.

When I think about it, in short, you can say that wielding a spear must feel like your arm has extended. You just need to use that extra range wisely. In my opinion, spears were the most useful weapon to fight dragons. While swords often recoiled at their leftover stone scales, a spear could could bore deep into their flesh and finish them off."

Ornstein finished the demonstration with a combo attack and a leap, things Tempest had seen him done in their battle.

"I don't expect you to be able to jump like that.", Ornstein said and faced Tempest, attacking without warning like usual.

Ornstein had been right. Tempest regretted proposing spears for training. When Ornstein was skilled with a sword, so had he reached absolute mastery with a spear. It only took the dragon slayer a few seconds to force the Undead on the ground and after a short while, Tempest Estus was already emptied and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. The next thing he knew, he awakened at the bonfire. Ornstein sat next to him.

"That has been too harsh of me, I am too used fighting with spears, so I accidentally inflicted a mortal wound.", Ornstein said, head to the side, as if he wasn't able to look Tempest in the eyes. It actually felt like he was sorry.

"I am used to the pain of dying now.", Tempest smiled. "Besides, I still have humanity left. I won't go hollow that quick anymore. At least for a while..."

"Still, we should get back to swords tomorrow.", Ornstein said. Apparently, the training session was already over. It didn't surprise Tempest. Appearing fully at the bonfire could take a good few hours. He was unconscious when it happened, but the ash his body turned into, probably needed some time to put it together again. Tempest wondered, if it was possible to observe this process from the outside.

After he had reversed his hollowing, the both of them ventured back to the cathedral where Tempest fulfilled his role of cooking a meal for Ornstein. The dragon slayer still hadn't showed any curiosity for why Tempest was able to cook so well. Whatever, Tempest was sure that he would ask eventually. Or maybe not. The dragon slayer was more willing to talk to Tempest nowadays, but he still didn't showed any interest in him at all besides making him into a warrior.

"Of course it is like this.", Tempest talked to himself while wandering the hallways after dinner was over. "In his eyes, you are just this puny Undead, nonetheless the one who killed his lover, failed to properly end his life and then came stumbling to him, asking for help.", Tempest sighed. "And still you wish it would be different, that you had his attention and that he would hold you. Why should he even fall in love with you? I am just a mess! I am not even a real soldier."

Tempest was far too frustrated to continue his trek through the cathedral right now and since Ornstein had given him his first bath in what had been probably month, Tempest realized how much he had missed that comfort. So he got a towel and soap, things he had found in the guest room, and walked into the changing room, where he got rid of his clothes and folded them neatly, laying his estus flask on top of them, before walking into the area with the public pool.

Tempest carefully entered the water and sat down, sighing when the hot water engulfed his sore muscles.

"Little storm?", a voice suddenly asked and Tempest jumped up in surprise, turning his head to see that Ornstein had been in the bath all along.

(Author's note: Lately we have been in Tempest mindset a lot, but I intend to go back to Ornstein eventually, maybe switching their POVs even in chapters. But you can be sure about one thing, the POVs will always be from the main couple, never from another character.)


	10. Chapter 10

Summary: Tempest finds out a few things about the dragon slayer.

(Author's note: I plan to get these two back into the action soon, but for now I needed another chapter of fluff and pining ^^)

Tempest expected Ornstein to be mad, but he looked more surprised. As if he wasn't expecting Tempest to march into the bath. Maybe he just hadn't registered the situation and would get mad in a few seconds when it clicked.

While Tempest waited for Ornstein to explode, he noticed that the dragon slayer had his long hair pinned-up on his head, only the shorter bangs dangling down framing his face. Tempest could spot his muscular chest, rested his eye on the scar for a brief moment, guilt bubbling up in his stomach and then couldn't help but look farther down, while the water was steaming hot, it still was crystal clear.

And what he saw made Tempest face flush red, he could feel the nosebleed coming and before he knew it, his world had become dark.

Ornstein had been quick to catch Tempest with one arm when he collapsed with a nosebleed. He might be unable to truly die, but drowning from having passed out in the bathroom wasn't something Ornstein wanted to put the little Undead through.

He carefully lifted him up and brought him to the side of the pool, using the towel Tempest had seemingly brought as a pillow, carefully pushing the head through the side. The nosebleed was already ceasing.

Ornstein started to shiver. He fetched his own towel and dried himself up, planning to bind it around his waist, then remembering that Tempest was of course wet too and he quickly rubbed the little Undead dry before covering his private parts with it.

Technically he should have covered Tempest too, but they were out of towels. Ornstein already had washed him once, so he hopefully wouldn't mind. Back then, the little storm hadn't acted modest a lot.

Sitting down next to Tempest, Ornstein started to reminiscent. A situation like this had once happened to him too.

When he had broken his arm during a duel with Artorias, the master had invited him into his personal bathroom to help him clean himself up. Ornstein, who had a massive crush on the master back then, but didn't knew that the master actually reciprocated them, had waited in the bathtub for the master to join him and got completely blown away when he hadn't covered his private parts one bit, passing out with a nosebleed.

When he had came back to, the master had carefully laid him down on the ground, not unlike Ornstein had laid out Tempest right now.

This reaction could only mean that Tempest was attracted to him.

Ornstein honestly didn't knew how to feel about this.

He had to admit, he had gotten strangely fond of the little storm the last few days. He made lots of efforts during training, his cooking tasted pretty good and it was nice having some company.

Still, he was nothing more than a pawn to link the flame. Ornstein just had to escort him until this was done and then he was free to go, free to search for his master. There was no need to get attached.

Besides, he had killed Smough. Even knowing that the both of them had been a mere test for the "Chosen Undead", Ornstein missed him deeply and still felt a grudge that his beloved was gone, never to see again.

Stilll... Ornstein knew that it was unfair to hold the grudge against Tempest. He only did what he had been told.

Ornstein sighed. He wasn't falling in love with him, right? It probably was just pity, yes, it had to be pity. That was all.

And thinking about it, Ornstein didn't mind the company of the little Undead as much anymore. Maybe he just considered him a friend? That must be it.

Still, he really shouldn't get attached. Ornstein exactly knew what fate awaited Tempest.

Speaking of him, Tempest lowly groaned and started to open his eyes.

The first thing Tempest noticed was the face of the dragon slayer staring at him, the second that he felt quite cold and the third, that he was indeed completely naked. He shot up, face flushed red.

"Are you awake? Maybe you shouldn't move that sudden right away, you were passed out.", Ornstein casually said. Tempest noticed that luckily the dragon slayer had tied a towel around his waist. The naked rest of him though, still looked very desirable. Tempest quickly looked elsewhere.

"I am sorry, I didn't want to invade in the bath, I just wanted to get myself clean.", he started to ramble. "I missed baths.", he added.

"Well then, the pool is all yours, I feel clean enough.", Ornstein said and stood up. "You probably want to clean that nosebleed up anyway."

Tempest touched his nose and indeed felt the crusted blood of his nosebleed. That was even more embarrassing. Passing out with a nosebleed in front of Ornstein like this. Tempest slowly went back into the pool, glancing at Ornstein. The dragon slayer didn't make any attempts to comment further on this whole incident. Tempest gaze wandered from the towel around Ornstein's waist to his still dry hair.

"Wait.", he shouted.

Ornstein, who almost was out of the door, turned around, giving him an impatient look.

"Aren't you planning on washing your hair?", Tempest asked.

"With hair as long as mine it is too much of a hassle to wash it every single bath.", Ornstein replied, calm and collected.

"I could help you.", Tempest offered.

Ornstein stared at him a little while longer, before dropping a single "No." and leaving the bathroom for good.

The next morning, when Tempest accompanied Ornstein for breakfast, he suddenly spoke: "So how did you found out?"

How rare for Ornstein to be the one to speak up. Although, Tempest felt confused, raising a brow, he asked: "What do you mean?"

"Gwyndolin.", Ornstein said. "You came into the Dark Moon Tomb to ask for help, why wouldn't you try and ask the princess for help first while she is right there?"

"Oh, I did ask Princess Gwynevere first.", Tempest explained. "But after I told her my whole deal, she just replied with the same thing she told me the first time. I decided to try around a bit and she was saying the same thing over and over again, regardless what I said. I had the feeling that something was fishy then."

Ornstein simply nodded and made a hand gesture that implied for Tempest to go on with his story.

"I visited the catacombs once. I didn't do much there granted, it was mostly me running and screaming from all the skeletons, falling down several holes. However, I must have picked up something shiny on the way, because I awoke at Fire Link Bonfire with a ring in my hand."

Tempest could hear Ornstein huff about this part of the story, he probably had called him an idiot mentally.

"I looked at the ring and recognized the symbol of the blades of the dark moon. I remembered the old tales about Lord Gwyn's last born, a goddess that punished the sinners and was able to create powerful illusions.

I also remembered the tales that Princess Gwynevere had left Anor Londo a long time ago. Her appearance here was quite strange, wasn't it?"

"You seem to be smarter than I thought.", Ornstein mentioned between bites.

"So I figured that Princess Gwynevere is merely an illusion, created by Dark Sun Gwyndolin and where else would I search for the Dark Sun as in a place literally called the Dark Moon Tomb? When I went there with the ring, the statue of Lord Gwyn disappeared and then... then I met you.", Tempest finished his story. "And you know the rest."

"And you were lucky.", Ornstein said. "That it was me standing there. Gwyndolin could have easily taken your actions as heresy and attacked right away. What they almost did."

Tempest paled a bit at the thought of how close the Dark Sun had been to release their magic on him. If that would have happened, he probably would have gone hollow for sure.

"Thankfully, everything turned out just fine.", Tempest said with a sigh of relief.

"Just fine. And that says the one who rushed into a fight with a dragon completely unprepared.", Ornstein scoffed. "You better be prepared for today's training session."

Tempest really didn't like the grin that appeared on Ornstein's face.

After the training and dinner was over (Ornstein didn't lie, he was pretty brutal this day), Tempest decided to read a few books and ended up in what was probably once the conference room of the knights, where he sat down at the table and started to flip open the pages of the first book.

He didn't knew why, but the wooden boards with paintings of the other knights made him feel at ease somehow. They had kind of a comforting feel to them. And Tempest didn't even knew them in person (besides Ornstein of course).

After Tempest had finished the first book, his gaze landed on the painting of Artorias, the Abysswalker.

Although hidden mostly by the hood, the smile on that painting felt so gentle and warm. Tempest started to rummage around in his belongings until he found it.

A ring with a wolf engraved on it. It was said that this ring once believed to the Abysswalker. Tempest traced the wolf on the ring, silently asking himself how the ring had landed in the Dark Root Garden. Shouldn't it had been buried with the Abysswalker? Tempest heard that there was a grave behind the sealed door in Dark Root Garden...

"Where have you found this?"

Tempest startled at the sudden voice. He turned around to see Ornstein standing in the doorway, dressed simply in a night shirt (with a sheep pattern on it, of all things), hair loosely tied in a ponytail, as if he just wanted to have it out of the way.

"Well?", Ornstein said further, clearly growing impatient. Tempest stared down at the ring, understanding.

"I found it on a withered corpse in Dark Root Garden, a path behind a living tree, where all this strange stone soldiers are.", Tempest replied. "I was just asking myself how it landed there. I would have thought that it would have been buried with him."

Ornstein left the doorway and crossed the way to the table with three strides.

"Sif had it. Artorias bequeathed his sword and his ring to Sif. Judging that you have it, doesn't mean, that..." Ornstein gazes locked on Tempest, who felt like shrinking under it. Even though the face of the dragon slayer was surprisingly not intimidating, his glare still got to him.

"I just told you I found it on a corpse and it wasn't the corpse of a wolf.", Tempest defended himself.

"Maybe Sif lost it then.", Ornstein mused, instantly getting calm again. "And the person who picked it up didn't make it far before dying or hollowing for good." Ornstein sat down on the table. "I would like you to give this ring back to Sif once we visit Artorias' grave. It belongs to her anyway."

Tempest nodded. It felt like the dragon slayer meant this very serious.

"Um, what about the rings of the other knights?", he asked, having gotten curious. The wolf ring had been the only one he found.

"The leo ring doesn't leave my finger.", Ornstein answered and indeed, Tempest could spot it on the ring finger of his left hand. Ornstein stared at it intensely before continuing, as if the ring had a greater meaning. "The hawk ring has been given into the care of one of Gough's friend. He never told me who it was, so I don't know where it is. And Ciaran's ring is still with her."

Huh, that last one sounded a bit strange. Was Ciaran still alive? Tempest had to admit, besides of Artorias, he hadn't heard of any deaths of the other knights. Ornstein was in front of him and still very much alive. What happened to Gough and Ciaran? Tempest gaze flickered over to their wooden board versions.

Tempest didn't expect the dragon slayer to suddenly start speaking about them.

"They make feel this room less lonely. Sometimes it is easier to pretend..." Ornstein stood up. "I have said enough." He walked back to the door.

"Um, just one question.", Tempest started, Ornstein turned around and made it wordlessly clear that he wouldn't wait long. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Couldn't sleep.", Ornstein sighed.

"I don't mind having some company at night.", Tempest said. "It gets lonely quick."

Ornstein didn't came back into the room, but he felt he saw the tiniest smile at the corners of his lips, before he turned around and left for good.

Tempest shouted one last "Good night.", to him before he put his attention back to the books on the table.

The next day Tempest prepared the meal in the kitchen like usual. After a few minutes he had the feeling that something was missing and when he was turning around, he noticed, that Ornstein hadn't sneaked into the kitchen to watch him cook in the meantime. Weird, normally he would have gotten up by now.

Tempest shrugged it off, maybe Ornstein just wanted to have some extra sleep. After all, he had told him yesterday night that he had trouble sleeping. He finished cooking the meal, put the lid on the pot and seated himself down at the table, waiting.

After around an hour was gone by, Tempest started to worry. He got up, doused the fire in the stove and went into the direction where he remembered Ornstein's room was. He found the right hallway and entered the first room, only after he entered did it came to his mind that maybe he should have knocked first.

To Tempest's luck it had been the wrong room. There was nobody in there and the dust on it implied that there hadn't been anyone in there since years. Still, the room looked like it was ready to greet back its inhabitant any moment. The bed had blue sheets on it and there was a book on the night stand.

Curiosity took over and so Tempest found himself closer to the night stand and picked up the book, flipping it open, surprised to see that it was a hand written recipe book, written in the most beautiful hand writing he had ever seen. Flipping through the pages, he noticed that pretty much every recipe was of cookies or cakes, there also were some drawings accompanying the recipes, showing how the recipe should turn out.

When Tempest closed the book, he saw that it was signed with the name of Artorias. He felt a slight lump in his throat. It seemed he had wandered into the room of the Abyss Walker. And he had expected a LOT to find in this room, but not something like this.

Tempest didn't know why, but he decided to pocket the book. He surely wanted to test out the recipes in the book, but he felt a bit guilty moving it from its places.

Tempest just hoped that nobody would mind.

Tempest left the room again, going to the next door. This time he knocked. And waited. When there wasn't an answer, he knocked again, waited a short time and then opened the door when he didn't heard anything.

The worst case scenario was that he would surprise Ornstein by an activity he didn't want to be seen doing (but wouldn't he have locked the door then?), the best case scenario would be that the room would be empty again.

To Tempest relief, it was the room of the dragon slayer and he simply was still in bed, sleeping. Tempest still found it weird, he normally would have gotten up already. Even if he had trouble sleeping, Tempest felt like Ornstein was the kind who wouldn't oversleep greatly like this then. Tempest decided to wake Ornstein and stepped closer to the bed.

Now how should he go and wake an over two meter tall demigod? Tempest considered his options for a moment, but then decided that it was no use, he just had to try, so he leaned down, extened his hand and nudged Ornstein. "Um, Ornstein? It would already be time for training...", he murmured, as if still being afraid to wake the dragon slayer.

Tempest wouldn't had guessed in a million years what happened next, because he felt himself being pulled in a tight hug. Before he even knew it, he had been completely pulled into the bed, Ornstein practically cuddling him like he was some kind of stuffed animal.

Tempest immediately felt his face flush red and also the feeling of dread started to creep into him.

"When he wakes up, I am dead.", Tempest thought to himself. It would be the best if he managed to remove himself from this situation, gently, careful, to not wake up the dragon slayer and act like this never ever happened.

Sadly, the embrace of Ornstein was simply too strong. Tempest had no chance slipping out of it and even when he tried to struggle as hard as he could, it simply seemed to tighten the embrace.

Now Tempest wasn't only fearing anymore to die when Ornstein woke up, but also to get squished in this embrace, the dragon slayer was so strong and in his sleep he clearly didn't notice that he wasn't cuddling with whatever he thought or dreamed about it was. Tempest already mentally prepared himself for his awakening at the bonfire, when the dragon slayer opened his eyes, staring at him in what looked like a shocked expression.

(Author's note: Lately I end my chapters too often on romance tropes =D )


	11. Chapter 11

Summary: Ornstein isn't getting attached! Or is he...?

(Author's note: Gosh, I got so many comments on different platforms and people like this fic and Tempest so much and I just want to say: Thank you so much! I hope you stay with Ornstein and Tempest until the very end!)

Before Tempest could think about anything to say to explain the situation he was practically shoved off the bed, landing hard onto the floor, groaning in pain at the sudden fall.

As soon as he managed to get up, he saw that the dragon slayer was sitting as far as he could away from him on the bed, practically pressing himself against the wall the bed was standing next to, his face flushed red, his curls a beautiful mess.

"Th.. that wasn't what it looked like. I.. I just like to hug things in my sleep, th.. that's all.", Ornstein stammered. Then, he seemed to fully realize the situation and blurted out: "What were you even doing in my room?!"

"My apologies.", Tempest raised both hands in a gesture of reassurance. "I simply was worried about you, because you didn't show up at breakfast even though an hour had passed by and normally we should have started training in the meantime. I knocked, but got no answer, so I came in and tried to wake you. And then you, uh, almost squished me."

At this words, Ornstein's face did the impossible task to turn even redder than before.

"Right, thanks for waking me then. Please leave now, I need to get ready. We meet in the kitchen.", he said.

With a last smile Tempest turned around and walked into the direction of the door. When he arrived at it, his gaze fell on a painting. It was a bit crude, looked like it was done by someone who hadn't much experience with painting, but these figures were clearly Ornstein and Artorias.

Tempest, who had seen the drawings of Ornstein, knew that his skill was far superior than this. This could only mean that one of the other knights had drawn it, probably Artorias himself. And Ornstein had hung it up in his room. Tempest suddenly felt guilty about that cookie book. He probably shouldn't have removed it from its place in the wolf knight's room. A part of him wanted to put it right away, but another part of him told him that he should hold onto it a little while longer.

"Um, are you done staring at my door?", Ornstein asked, who finally had managed to get off the bed, a bunch of clothes in his arms.

"Oh sorry.", Tempest said and rushed out of the door, back into the kitchen, where he didn't had to wait long for Ornstein to arrive. When the knight had looked like a nervous mess when he still had been in bed, now all of this was gone, with his armour put on, the hair tied into the usual ponytail and his helmet under his left arm while he carried his spear in the right.

"Perfect timing, I just finished heating the meal up.", Tempest said cheerfully and went to find something to fill the meal in. He heard how Ornstein sat down at the table, two clangs implied that he put both his helmet and his spear down. Tempest strolled over to the table and put the meal down in front of Ornstein, before seating himself down.

"Just that you know, that didn't mean anything.", Ornstein blurted out not even wasting a glance at his meal. This took Tempest off guard.

"Huh?", he wondered and then it rained back down on him. "Oh, you mean, the hug?"

"Don't mention it.", Ornstein hissed, picked up his silverware and started to eat. Tempest knew this subject was over for now.

Still, it felt too quiet. Tempest didn't like this silence between them, it reminded him too much when they just had started out in the dark moon tomb and the most he got from the dragon slayer had been silent glares. Tempest felt like they had managed to become friends over the last days, he didn't just want such an incident to take it all away. He rummaged around in his mind for a topic, desperately wanting to break the silence, when he found something.

"So, um, do you like sheep?", he asked casually.

Ornstein froze mid eating at this question, his face flushing a tint of red again, Tempest already felt ready to shrink down, feeling that he had said the wrong thing, when Ornstein asked: "How do you know this?!"

"I didn't.", Tempest replied truthfully. "That is why I ask. I just assumed that could be the case because your night shirt had a sheep pattern on it."

"Oh.", Ornstein said. "Completely forgot that I had put this on. Almost all of my night shirts have been gifts from the master or got pictures embroidered on by Smough." His tone felt casual enough for Tempest to continue this conversation.

"So, does that mean you have a certain fondness of sheep? Because when I would gift someone something, I would make sure it matches their preferences."

It was a question that would have been easily answered with yes or no, so Tempest was surprised when the dragon slayer spoke: "To be honest, animals and me are a difficult thing. Most of them don't seem to like me and in response, I am wary about them too. Dogs, cats, birds, they attacked me totally unprovoked on multiple occasions."

Tempest mouth fell agape. He had expected a lot, but not a full blown confession that the dragon slayer was afraid of animals. At least the three he had mentioned were a very safe bet.

"But I never had this problem with sheep. They never attacked me. They were just there and they were soft and cuddling against them made me feel secure.", Ornstein had a dreamy look in his eyes, as if he was reliving a pleasant memory.

Tempest had to grin about the thought of Ornstein cuddled up against a fluffy sheep. "That is so cute.", he said.

Which instantly shifted the mood of Ornstein around. "Why have I even told you this? Go prepare for our training and forget what I just mentioned!"

Tempest instantly stood up and rushed out of the room, although not without a heavy grin. The dragon slayer could play as tough as he managed, there was an undeniable soft side in him and Tempest was close breaking through to it.

"I am sure one day he will feel secure to share his secrets with me.", Tempest murmured to himself while he strolled down the hallway, heading to the training grounds.

Ornstein was walking alongside Gwyndolin into the direction of the training grounds. He had asked them for help with today's training session and the moon deity had agreed.

"So, how is he making himself?", Gwyndolin asked, wiggling alongside Ornstein. Even after all these centuries Ornstein found it fascinating how they moved when they didn't teleport.

"Better than I initially thought. He isn't a lost cause, but far from being a good knight also. He is clumsy, moves too much and tries to rely on rolling for dodging far too often.", Ornstein replied with a huff. "But...", he continued. "He adapted and learned and in these ten days he made massive progress. He probably will never be a knight, but a little warrior instead."

"...Ornstein, are you getting attached?"

That question hit Ornstein like a bucket of cold water. A faint memory of Artorias doing this to him on hot summer days briefly crossed his mind, before he answered: "What? No, why should I? I only have to escort him to the first flame and then I am free to go. It is just easier when he actually knows how to fight."

Ornstein felt that this only was the half truth. He felt that he indeed had become attached to the little storm. He sighed. He didn't want to lie to Gwyndolin. "Maybe a little bit. This journey gets easier when we get along, right?"

"I am just warning you. You know that he has to burn to keep the flame going. I don't want you to get hurt."

 _iYou have gotten hurt enough already./i_ Gwyndolin hadn't said this, but Ornstein knew that these unspoken words lingered in the air beyond them.

"I know..." The dragon slayer stared on the ground and they stayed silent for the rest of the way.

Just after they had rode the elevator to the training grounds, Ornstein could spot Tempest already training on his own. If that could be called training. He had picked up the spear again and failed in every aspect adding the length of the weapon to his repertoire, but instead he stumbled and fell down because the momentum of his thrust pulled him down.

The undead pulled himself up with a bloody nose and a grin on his face, saying out aloud: "When Ornstein does this, it looks so much easier."

Ornstein felt his heart flutter and he had to avert his gaze at this sight. Damn, that had looked cute. _iDon't get attached/i,_ he thought to himself.

Still, he didn't felt that it was wrong being friends. For now. It wasn't like they were dating.

"Um, are you coming, Ornstein?", Gwyndolin asked and Ornstein reacted just in time to jump off the elevator before it drove back down. With a few strides he was at Tempest side. The small undead had already healed any wounds with a sip from his Estus, practically beaming when he saw Ornstein.

"Ah, Ornstein, you have taken your time, so I decided to train on my own. Though, I am not really getting how do you make this thrusts with your spear without falling down? Can you show me this?"

"I thought I told you we were going back to swords.", Ornstein scolded Tempest.

"Sorry.", Tempest gave Ornstein a sheepish smile. "I just wanted to try it out. I get the swords." Only now seemed he to notice that Gwyndolin was with them. "Oh, Dark Sun Gwyndolin is with you today?"

"They have agreed to help out with your training.", Ornstein explained. "I have to see how you hold up against more than one foe."

Tempest took a step back, looking aghast. "I shall fight against both of you at once?!"

Ornstein shook his head in annoyance. "No, they will conjure up a few foes for you to fight." He gave Tempest a glare that signalled "Don't you dare lay a hand on Gwyndolin." before remembering that he was wearing his helmet.

"Oh, alright.", Tempest said. "I, um, go get my sword now." The small Undead awkwardly ran into the direction of the bonfire, where Ornstein had made a habit to keep the weapons for training, leaving the dragon slayer alone with Gwyndolin. He deeply sighed.

"If he manages to withstand this test, I was thinking about heading back to the archives tomorrow, but when I see him like that, I doubt that he will manage.", he spoke.

Next to him, Gwyndolin's face turned into a smile. "Don't be too hard, Ornstein, you once started out like this too, remember?"

"How could I ever forget the hell of a training your older brother liked to put me through?", Ornstein said with a grin, but instantly after this both of them fell silent.

"Ornstein.", Gwyndolin was the first to break the silence. "If you find him... please tell him, I miss him."

Ornstein felt a lump in his throat. He nodded, feeling like any words he could say were stuck in his throat. After all, when all of this would be over, he, too, would leave Gwyndolin behind.

"If anything happens, you just have to call and I return to your side in an instant.", he finally managed to speak. Before Gwyndolin could say anything, Tempest returned with his sword.

"Sorry that I made you wait.", he said. "I am ready for today's training."

"Good.", Ornstein stepped forward. "Like I said, Gwyndolin will conjure up a few foes for you to take care off. They may be illusions, but they are still solid and can hurt you, so don't let your guard down."

Tempest nodded, taking his sword with both hands. "I am ready.", he said, far more enthusiastic than Ornstein would have expected.

"Gwyndolin, please.", Ornstein gestured to them and they raised their catalyst. Soon after, a few crystal hollows had taken shape. An archer, one with a sword and one with a club. They slowly staggered towards Tempest.

"I won't help you with this, beat them on your own. You can use your Estus.", Ornstein said, leaning himself down on his spear, observing.

The first thing Tempest did, was rushing forward to take the archer out, dodging a swing of both the melee fighters. To Ornstein's discontent, he again used this weird dodge roll to do it. It turned out to be quite effective though, because both sword and club missed and hit the ground with a clank respectively thud instead.

What he didn't manage to dodge though, was the arrow of the archer, which bored itself into his left shoulder. Hissing, Tempest seemed to ignore the pain and his sword found the archer which fell in two swift hits.

"Damn, this guys are still so hard.", Tempest complained, not paying attention and getting hit with a hard strike of the club hollow. He cried out in pain, twirled around, but found himself surrounded by both of his foes. He quickly backed away, nestling for his estus flask. Ornstein watched as he took a sip and his wounds quickly closed, then he clutched his sword again, dodging a hit of the sword hollow and striking it right after he came back up, backing away because the club hollow tried to strike again.

This continued a few more minutes, until Tempest had done enough damage to both of the illusions that they vanished into thin air. He panted heavily, grabbing for his estus, because he had managed to get a few more wounds while fending them off.

"That could hardly be considered elegant.", Ornstein said. "But you have been calm and collected enough to be able to handle three foes at once. I am quite satisfied with your progress."

Tempest stared at Ornstein with big eyes. "A compliment out of your mouth? Have I died and gone hollow for good?", he shouted. Ornstein could see how Gwyndolin chuckled next to him.

"I am not needed here anymore, so I will leave you alone.", they said and with a flick of their catalyst they were gone. Ornstein only could stare in shock how quickly they were gone, he hadn't expected to have to deal with Tempest on his own now.

"So, um, this actually was, like a test, to see, if you can handle stuff." Oh how Ornstein hated how clumsily this words came out.

"Does that mean we are heading out tomorrow? Back to the archives?", Tempest asked, his sword tip loosely on the ground, him practically leaning on it, not unlike Ornstein did with his spear. The dragon slayer nodded.

"Then I'll go back to the cathedral now, I want to prepare something. Don't come into the kitchen until I'll allow it.", Tempest said with a grin and rushed away. Ornstein just blankly stared after him.

For someone who felt like giving up just a few weeks ago, he was strangely cheerful and enthusiastic. But maybe, just maybe, he was just feeling lonely. Ornstein surely knew how it felt.

Ornstein let his gaze rest on the archives for a moment, before he turned around. He would take a walk through Anor Londo, he hadn't done this in a long time now. And once he returned, he was sure that dinner would wait for him.


	12. Chapter 12

Summary: It's the last night in the cathedral.

(Author's note: Again, I can only thank your continued support for my story. Ornstein and Tempest will go back out into the action soon. Means I need to do some more research about the game areas, so updates could be slow, sorry. Along with me having two other WIPs and being in a large Bloodborne mood lately.)

When Ornstein returned to the cathedral after Gwyndolin had dropped the illusion of the sun and the moon rose, he decided to stop by at the old silver knight ask box. It wasn't possible that there was any message in it, Smough had been the last one to ever use it and... Ornstein didn't want to think about it. Regardless, he felt like he wanted to look into it one last time before he would be on the road for some while and felt a flush of surprise when he indeed saw a note lying in it.

Slowly, he grabbed the note, unfolding it, facing an unfamiliar handwriting.

"Thank you for the training and to be willing to stay around me. I made me feel so much more secure and happier. I am looking forward to our quest."

That could only be.. the little storm. Ornstein read the note again. And another time. There seemed to be some warmth blooming in his chest. Finally, he folded it back together and slipped it into his armour.

After Ornstein had looked at the box, he made his way to the kitchen and was greeted with a mouthwatering smell. Tempest appeared in the door frame, cheerily smiling at him: "You have been out for quite some time. I even waited for you."

"We are going out tomorrow and I wanted to take a look at Anor Londo again." Who knew when Ornstein would see it again.

"I have cooked your favourite food and even prepared a surprise for later." Tempest put a bowl from which the mouthwatering smell came right in front of him. Ornstein determined the dish in it as a fish-vegetable-stew. With trout and carrots. Some of his favourite ingredients.

"Thank you.", Ornstein said, starting eating. And having trouble to keep his face straight. The dish was so extraordinary well made, that his face automatically wanted to turn into a smile. It even reminded him of... Smough's cooking.

"How do you like it?", Tempest asked, both hands on the table, his upper body basically laying on it, voice shaking with excitement.

"It's... good.", Ornstein answered. It wasn't just good. It was fantastic, tasty, probably the best meal Tempest had ever cooked. But Ornstein couldn't get himself to admit it. He apparently didn't need to, because Tempest already smiled brightly at the rather lackluster compliment.

"I am glad.", Tempest grinned. "I gave it my all for this meal."

That was more than apparent. Ornstein didn't answer anymore because he was too busy with eating, he even asked for seconds, which made Tempest even vibrating more than he already had. It turned out to be... a comfortable silence. Ornstein didn't mind that Tempest was staring at him while eating, it even felt... cozy. It was nice to have some company. That was what the little storm was. Ornstein thought back at the note that had made him feel warm. No, he wasn't attached. He was company. Just company.

Once Ornstein was finished with the second serving, he wanted to get up to retreat to his room, already a lecture on his tongue for Tempest to go rest too, when the small Undead gestured for him to sit back down.

"I have a surprise prepared, remember?", he said and Ornstein swore he was vibrating even more. If this would continue, it wouldn't surprise Ornstein if Tempest would become a literal storm and just fly away. His excitement was unmissable and also kind of... cute. He shouldn't find him cute. He wasn't attached. No, Ornstein was indeed not attached to the little storm.

Ornstein still was questioning himself what kind of surprise Tempest had for him, he surely hadn't trained himself to master spear techniques when he had been busy cooking, when he came back with the plate full of cookies.

Cookies in sheep form.

Ornstein stared at Tempest aghast. "What... I have literally told you that I like sheep only this morning. How did you manage to prepare this?!"

Tempest sat down opposite to Ornstein while the dragon slayer picked one of the sheep cookies up, eyeing it curiously. Tempest even had used a sugar coating to give the sheep cookies a woolly look.

"I grew up in a tavern. It was usual that we got requests to make a meal and dessert in a short time. It had to be done in a few hours so we didn't had much time to think about what we did. I decided to make these cookies these mornings, when you told me about liking sheep and because of the cookie book I found."

The small Undead carefully laid a book down on the table. Ornstein recognized it instantly.

"Artorias...", he said, finally taking a bite of the cookie. That was it. That was the taste of Artorias' cookies. Not even Smough had been able to recreate this exact same taste. Ornstein had a hard time to not break out into nostalgic tears.

"I... have to apologize. I shouldn't have taken it. I should lay it back to where it was. I just always enjoyed making sweets the most and wanted to try out one of the recipes.", Tempest said, but Ornstein quickly shook his head.

"No, keep it... I am sure Artorias would have loved for someone to take over his recipes."

Even though Tempest would eventually become fuel for the first flame, Ornstein still felt that it would be better to give the cookie book to him. To a person who appreciated it. In the cathedral it would just lie around and get more and more dusty.

"These are... very good.", Ornstein said once he was done eating the first cookie. "You are surely better at cooking than at fighting. Speaking of... did you mention that you grew up in a tavern?"

Tempest nodded. "Yes, just me and my mother. I always helped out with cooking and serving. I always thought one time I would take over the tavern once my dear mother retired."

"Then... how did you die?"

Tempest face fell at the sudden question but brightened up instantly. "Oh and here I thought you would NEVER ask this question!"

He straightened himself up in his chair. "You know that I am from Astora. One day there was an attack from a giant beast."

"The beast of the evil eye.", Ornstein nodded. "That is well known, the story even made its way to Anor Londo. Is his how you died?"

Tempest shook his head. "No. But a lot of elite knights and soldiers died that day. So when there were rumours about a rivalling country invading, the young folks of Astora got recruited into a hastily constructed army. They gave us a brief course how to wield a sword, some armour and then we were thrown into battle."

Tempest smile looked sad when he told the next part: "Of course I didn't stand a chance. I died before I could even strike down one single foe."

"... And then you came back...?"

A nod. "Yes. Turned out I was cursed by the dark sign. Felt kind of strange, getting up after having died. Have been very confused. Of course I knew about that the Undead are all shipped to the Asylum. So I went to my best friend back then. I probably also did had a crush on him."

Ornstein felt a pang in his chest about the mention that Tempest did had a crush once. That.. that wasn't right. Of course he could have a crush. It wasn't like they were attracted to each other.

"But what do you know, when I told him everything and asked for help, he turned traitor and I got caught and shipped away."

Tempest put both hands into the air and shook his head.

"Needless to say I didn't had my crush on him after _ithat/i._ And here I thought we were friends."

Why was Ornstein feeling relieved hearing this? Just why?

"I don't even know how long I have been in that cell, long enough to almost hollow for sure. Until this Astora elite knight dropped me the key to my cell. On a corpse. Shocked my mind right back into my body.", Tempest finished his story.

"An elite knight at the Asylum?", Ornstein asked. "How curious, must have been an Undead too. But why did he free you? I mean, you don't feel like the, uh... right choice."

Tempest had gotten a few more muscles in their training, but even with a bit of military armour on, it must have been apparent how thin he was. He wasn't a fighter. Ornstein suddenly had a newfound admiration that he actually made it this far. Which turned into shame instantly when he remembered that he indeed lost to the little storm.

Tempest shrugged. "If I would have known that. Maybe I was the only one left with a clear mind? When I explored the asylum, all I could find were hollows. A lot of them didn't even move anymore. Even that elite knight was going hollow. He gave me his Estus flask."

Tempest fell silent for a short few seconds.

"Before I got crushed five times by that demon before I saw that there was a door I could run through. Back then I almost already lost hope. How should I be able to get past this thing only having a sword hilt with me?"

"I am astounded that you even tried to fight a demon with a sword hilt alone.", Ornstein said.

"Look, I thought I had no other choice!", Tempest replied with a heated voice. "It was either going forwards or going back to that cell and hollow for good. I preferred to go forward."

"And you eventually made it.", Ornstein stated. Tempest just nodded.

"I still feel like I wasn't the right choice. Chosen Undead? I don't feel chosen.", he laid both hands on the table and placed his head on them, sighing. "Maybe being chosen just means that you are the one who made it...", he murmured and Ornstein froze at how close Tempest came to the truth with this assumption.

"Anyway, I better prepare for tomorrow.", Tempest said, raising his head. "Enjoy your cookies!"

And with that, Tempest ran off and left Ornstein alone with the cookies. The dragon slayer picked another one up, thinking about what Tempest had told him before taking a bite.

He better should prepare for tomorrow too.

Tempest was back in his room, looking at the different armour sets he had picked up on his journey. He probably could have kept wearing Ciaran's old clothes, but for one, he felt a bit disrespectful wearing them and for the other, they actually were a tiny bit tight in his crotch area and a bit too wide in the chest area. It just was apparent that these clothes originally had been made for a woman, even though their size must have been roughly the same.

Tempest remembered that Ornstein had told him that speed came before protection, especially because he was such a small target. So Tempest decided to discard any plate armour or chainmail out at once. This left any sets made out of cloth or leather.

Inspecting the ones made out of cloth, Tempest decided that he still valued a bit more of protection. He settled on a set he had picked up in the lower undead burg. A black leather set, probably once having been owned by a thief. It looked very close to Ciaran's old clothes, but it fit him better, probably once had been belonged to another male.

He even put on the mask, but when he looked into the mirror, he found that he looked too much like a delinquent, so he decided to take it off. It didn't matter if anyone saw his face anyway. And he didn't had to fear scars, because he could heal any wound with Estus.

Still, having his head not protected at all... He looked back into his belongings searching for a suitable helm. After he tried on a few, Tempest decided to go with the Gargoyle helm. It was made out of bronze and fit just right over his head and it even looked pretty good without hiding his face completely.

It probably wasn't the best defense wise, but it was light enough to not feel uncomfortable and it would at least prevent his head to be split open.

Now he needed to pick out a weapon. It didn't take Tempest long to decide, he had a newfound fondness of the silver knight straight sword, mostly because they had trained with it a lot. Even though Ornstein had trained him to not rely on a shield, he still felt more secure with one and picked out a simple knight's shield.

Tempest felt secure in his outfit, so he could put the others back in the bottomless box. Would be a few trips back to the bonfire. Sighing, he picked up what he could carry at once and got on his way.

After a few trips, Tempest was damp with sweat, but at least he had put every armour set back into the bottomless box. Now he only needed to wait for the night to pass.

Maybe he should take another bath? Who knew when they would get back into the convenience of the Anor Londo cathedral. But what if Ornstein was in the bath?

Tempest technically could just enter the woman's bath, it wasn't like there was anyone, but... he even kind of hoped he would run into Ornstein again in the bath. So he quickly got a towel, some soap and a basin along with a light night shirt he wanted to put on later, it was more comfortable running around in these at night and made his way to the bathroom.

When he entered, Tempest had to realize with disappointment that Ornstein wasn't hear. Maybe he already had bathed. Maybe he didn't want a bath today. Maybe he would come in later. Whatever, Tempest mainly came here to clean himself up. Still, after he had made sure to clean every last corner of his body, the small undead decided to stay a while longer but the dragon slayer never came. Tempest eventually left the bath and decided to wait out the rest of the night in his room. He didn't need to sleep anymore, but laying down and closing his eyes helped him drift off and that made the nights pass faster.

The next morning Tempest prepared breakfast. It was the last time. He knew they would go back into the archives. They would go back fighting. He would probably die again. Tempest would have loved to just stay like this. Forever. But he knew that it wasn't his fate.

"When fate means having to die again and again and again, then it can suck my ass.", Tempest murmured while cooking, slightly turning his head to the site only to see that Ornstein had appeared in the kitchen door staring at him.

"Would you have been one my silver knights, you would have needed to pay in the swear jar.", he casually said while strolling over to the table. "But you aren't and I feel you. Fate can indeed suck my ass too."

Now it was at Tempest to stare. "And you don't need to pay in the swear jar?", he said while while stirring the pot. "Besides, you have said that Seath is a pain in the ass back in the archives. Shouldn't you pay double?" Ornstein chuckled.

"I am the captain. Besides, there isn't any use for hard coins anymore."

"Fair.", Tempest said, watching the soup swirl. "So... why do you think about fate... like this?", Tempest asked.

Ornstein sighed. "Just look around you. This ghost of a town should tell you everything you need to know."

Tempest didn't need any further explanation. Once Ornstein had been a legend, a hero. The dragon slayer. A respected knight with countless more knights under his command. Now... the city was empty. Ornstein's companion were all dead or had left. The person he shared the most special bond with was no more and had fallen to Tempest's own blade.

"I am sorry.", he simply said. Ornstein waved with his hand, as if saying "Forget about it." Tempest finished the soup, filled it in a bowl and brought it over to Ornstein. He had decided to cook a simpler meal today. Maybe Ornstein was nervous.

 _iWhy should he be nervous? That man is the freaking legendary dragon slayer?/i_ A voice whispered in Tempest's head, but he still wanted to take this into consideration.

After all, in these past few days he had learned that the dragon slayer was softer than he let on.

While Ornstein was spooning the soup, he asked: "So, tell me how we should tackle our mission at the archives."

Tempest took a deep breath and the spoke: "The archives is littered with crystal hollows, so we split up to take care of them one by one and only move on when we cleared out a room. I won't wander off on my own. Seath is a dirty hoe and we should only face him when we have found out how we can hurt him. I will obey your every command, but in return you will listen to me when I have a request."

Ornstein nodded at the end of the tirade of words. Tempest had noticed that Ornstein had frowned when he called Seath a dirty hoe, but he remembered that one day Ornstein had told him all about the paledrake.

"Very good.", Ornstein simply said. "We will leave 30 minutes after I finished eating, so get your things ready."

Tempest nodded and was on his way.


	13. Chapter 13

Summary: Ornstein and Tempest go back into the archives, but a plan has to be formed before they can challenge the pale drake. Maybe they can find some hints in the giant library?

(Author's note: My apologies for the wait on this chapter. I needed to write out some Bloodborne stuff and finish one of my other WIPs but now I was able to dive back into this and we are even going back into the action.

Maybe we get this first lord soul soon ^^)

Ornstein found Tempest waiting in front of the cathedral, dressed in the black leather set he already had worn earlier in the kitchen, topped with a gargoyle's helmet, a silver knight straight sword in his right hand and a knight's shield in his left.

"We trained so that you wouldn't have to rely on a shield.", Ornstein scolded him, a frown on his forehead.

"I know.", Tempest said. "I just... I feel a little more secure with it?"

"As long as it doesn't slow us down." Ornstein had to admit, with the myriads of archers in the archives, a shield would be nice. Especially because the little storm didn't exactly wore armour that would secure peak protection of any sharp projectiles coming his way.

"Let's go.", Ornstein sighed. He wanted to get this over with. Hopefully the training would expose itself as fruitful and they were out of this place before the sun got dropped and replaced with the moon.

Before they set off, Ornstein noticed that the two giant sentinels normally guarding the front gate of the cathedral were gone.

"Huh, seems like my training already paid off.", he murmured.

"These guys!", Tempest suddenly blurted out. "They look far more intimidating than they are. They are big, but slow. After training with you their movements felt like someone cast a slowing spell on them."

"Good, that means you will help me getting rid of the ones guarding the way to the archives.", Ornstein said.

"Oh, darn! I forgot they were more of them!", Tempest shoulders hung low.

"Let's... let's just go.", Ornstein scratched one spike of his helmet, hand clutched around his spear which was standing loosely on the gorund.

The both of them walked in silence until they came to their usual training grounds, where Tempest excused himself to use the bonfire. Ornstein also heard him chat with the dark moon knightess. She apparently told him a few details about Seath. Nothing special. She certainly left out the more juicy details.

"Please excuse the wait.", Tempest came running back to Ornstein with a smile on his face. Damn, it was that cute smile. That one that was half a grin and half joyful. Ornstein quickly jerked his head around and was very interested in the cobblestone instead.

"Shouldn't you be more nervous?", he asked.

"I am nervous! We are going to fight a dragon! But at the same time, I am sure everything will turn out alright, because I am with you."

That hit right into Ornstein's heart. How could this little Undead put so much trust into him after that sparse time they had spent together? "That.. that hasn't something to do with you or such.", he said, head high, prideful. He had to show that he was a lion. He was the dragon slayer, not some babysitter. "I simply follow Gwyndolin's orders."

"Yes, right.", Tempest said, unsheathing his sword as they walked towards the building which contained the statue of Smough.

… Lately Ornstein hadn't thought much about Smough, but laying his eyes on this statue, the feelings rushed back to him and he just stood there, eyes locked on it, trying to fight the urging tears back.

"Um, Ornstein, a little help?"

Ornstein groaned as he saw that the little storm had managed to get picked up by the scruff of the neck by one of the sentinel's halberd: "How have you managed that, idiot?!"

"I thought you would help!", he cried as Ornstein already rushed in to take care of the giant sentinel who had Tempest on his weapon. Once he dissipated, Tempest murmured: "Oh no, that is not good..." before falling right into Ornstein's arm.

"Th.. thanks for catching me.", he said, his face seemed to be heated, with a slight red on his cheeks.

"I.. I just caught you because you were practically falling into my arms... that means nothing.", Ornstein said, putting the Undead on the ground. Damn, his own face felt flushed too.

"Careful, the other one!", Tempest shouted and rolled out of the way just in time before the halberd crashed on the ground.

"Take care of it yourself.", Ornstein ordered. "I took care of the other one."

"Alright!", Tempest took his sword in both hands, circled the sentinel and hacked away at it until it collapsed and disintegrated into the magic it existed of. Now only the sentinel in front of the archives was left and was no match for their combined power.

"Do we need to take care of the boars a second time, too?", Tempest asked.

"I don't think so. These aren't illusions or hollows. They probably have been the last ones in Lordran.", Ornstein replied.

And, in fact, the boars were gone so that Ornstein and Tempest had a very uneventful trip through the hallways, where Tempest sat down at the bonfire. "At least getting here was a breeze.", he murmured.

"Yes, but the real challenge begins now.", Ornstein said. "So, what things don't we do once in there?"

"Not going through any fog gates without asking first."

"Good, what else?"

"Not storming off on my own."

"Perfect."

Ornstein was more than satisfied and stood up. Soon, the little storm followed him as he stepped on the elevator.

"So, when we are up there, we lure the melee fighters to the platform and then I rush forward and take care of the archers.", Ornstein explained, earning a little nod of Tempest.

That plan worked flawlessly and while Tempest was busy fending off the crystal hollows on the elevator, Ornstein took care of the archers without effort before returning to the small Undead and help him dispatch the last foe.

As they wandered to the doorway leading into the library, Ornstein heard the very distinct sound of a soul arrow and quickly hid behind the wall. The little storm however, wasn't that quick and got quite a hit on his right arm.

"Ow.", he hissed and nestled for his estus flask to heal the damage. "Ornstein, what are we doing?"

Ornstein peaked into the room. That the channeler was back was baffling for him. They weren't Undead. Just how many loyal channelers had Seath left?

"There are crystal hollows left and right. When we want to get rid of the channeler, they will surely sneak up. However, see this large book cases? When each of us takes care of the crystal hollows behind them, the magic can't come through and once we are done dispatching them, one of us can take care of the archers behind the channeler while the other takes care of him."

"Can I fight the channeler..? I am pretty sure once I have faced one of them and.. I just want to try.", Tempest asked.

"You sure about this, little storm?", Ornstein grinned. What had happened to the scaredy cat the first time they had been here? Tempest nodded to him.

"Very well then, let's go. I'll go right, you'll go left."

Ornstein didn't wait for Tempest to acknowledge his words and took care of his portion of crystal hollows right away, all while he heard the sounds of soul arrows hitting the book shelves. Luckily, the channelers Seath still had with him didn't seem to be of the brightest sort. Once Ornstein had managed to to take care of his batch of hollows, he cowered behind the shelf and waited for Tempest.

He could hear the clanking of a sword on crystal, the sound of a club hitting a shield and some mild cussing as Tempest seemed to make his way through his batch of hollows. Soon after, he came in sight, taking a sip out of his estus flask.

"Ready?", Ornstein signed with his fingers and Tempest nodded. Ornstein made sure to get rid of the archers as Tempest approached the channeler.

After Ornstein had zigzagged between all of the archers on the stairs to make sure that no arrows would come Tempest way, he leaned against the railing and watched the battle of the channeler and the little storm. Clumsy like always, but at least the rolls of the small Undead managed to actually avoid any damage and soon after he drove his sword deep into the channelers back, blood splattering on the ground.

"I did it!", he cheered, bending down to pick up the trident of the channeler. "Oh look, he left his weapon."

"Don't waste time with this, you are not a sorcerer.", Ornstein complained.

"Ornstein! You could have helped me!", Tempest shouted as he saw how casual the dragon slayer was leaning against the wall.

"Why, weren't you eager to fight him all by yourself?", Ornstein scoffed. "You are lucky he didn't teleport away! Probably thought you were easier to take down than me!"

Grumbling, Tempest walked up the stairs, trident still in his hands. "So you are telling me, you were helping just by standing around?"

"Yes.", Ornstein couldn't help but grin under his helmet.

Now that a majority of the crystal hollows had been taken care off and the rest of them were patrolling around the landings, soon the both of them stood in front of the fog gate.

"I think I can hear him breathing...", Tempest murmured, an ear pressed against the fog gate.

"The first time you were in there, did you notice anything?", Ornstein asked.

"No. It was too quick. There were crystals on the ground and then I died."

"Crystals... I know that Seath experimented a lot. I wonder if he used to try and replace his scales with something?"

"Now that you mention it, I could get a glimpse at him and I think I indeed saw some crystals sprouting out of his body."

"It's probably safe to say that Seath has done something to his body to secure that he can't get hurt. Before we haven't found out what it is, we shouldn't face him."

"How shall we find this out?"

"We are in the archives."

Tempest felt a drop of sweat form on his forehead upon the realization of Ornstein's words: "There must be millions of books here!"

"Not millions, but thousands indeed. Searching through them would indeed be too much. For now, I suggest we go back and search for anything that can help us. Maybe Seath left some notes for us to find."

Tempest silently followed Ornstein back into the large library room.

"So, where do we start?", Ornstein asked.

"How about we check left and right the stairs we used to get to the elevator?", Tempest suggested.

"Sounds good, let's go."

On their way, Ornstein scanned the book shelves, but he couldn't find anything worthwhile. Seath probably wouldn't just file his personal notes next to the usual books. When they would be able to find some secret stash of books, a place were Seath stored all that knowledge he had collected during the centuries...

"Hey, look, there's a chest!", Tempest called and rushed over, flipping it open.

Upon seeing this, Ornstein cleared his throat: "What are we doing when we see chests?"

Tempest shrank in fear and took a step back, but approached the chest again when it didn't spawn teeth. "...Checking if it is a mimic.", he answered.

"You were lucky this wasn't one.", Ornstein said and came nearer to look at the contents of the chest. Tempest was holding a twinkling titanite.

"Hm, that certainly strengthen the theory that Seath uses crystals.", Ornstein said. "Twinkling Titanite was pretty important for the silver knights too, their weapons could only be reinforced with it. You should hold onto that, you surely can use it for your sword."

"Guess I have to pay Andre a visit after we are done.", Tempest pocketed the item.

"Andre?"

"A blacksmith in the Undead Parish."

Ah, another Undead probably. For the Undead, having weapons in top condition was very important, so a blacksmith would probably swim in souls when they opened up shop in Lordran.

"There doesn't seem to be anymore here. Let's check the other side.", Tempest rushed forward. Ornstein calmly followed him. His walking speed was more than enough to keep up with the little storm.

"Hey, I see another chest!", Tempest called and rushed over to it only to get hit by a crystal hollow that came out of a small alcove.

"Ow!", he shouted, swinging his sword blindly. "Where did you come from?"

Ornstein didn't rush to come over and dispatched the second crystal hollow, who came from the balcony, in one hit.

"That's why we don't rush.", he said, leaning against the wall. Tempest's eyes were fixated on something else.

"There's something lying there!", he rushed outside and came back with another twinkling titanite in his hand. "Huh, Seath really liked this things. They are everywhere."

"It's safe to say he experimented with it. Why do you think all the hollows in here are crystallized?"

"Makes sense, yeah.", Tempest focused his attention on the two crystal hollows guarding the chest. He glanced at Ornstein. Sighing, the lion knight rushed forward with him and took care of one of the crystal hollows.

"Now.", Tempest said, taking a sip of his estus after his own foe was down. "Now I check, if it is a mimic." With that, Tempest gave the chest a heavy kick.

"No, you idiot! Use your weapon!", Ornstein shouted, but it was already too late, the mimic had gotten Tempest's leg and eagerly chewed on it.

"Ornstein, help!", the little Undead screamed and Ornstein abandoned his spear to put both hands under Tempest's shoulder and pull the idiot out of the iron grip. As Ornstein did his best to not let get Tempest eaten, the little storm wildly swung around his sword, getting quite a few hits on the mimic until it had enough and spew him out.

With the force Ornstein had used to pull Tempest, that meant that the both of them were practically falling on the ground, Tempest on top of him.

"Th.. thank you...", Tempest said. Ornstein could see how red his face was. Damn, his own face felt as red as the one of the little storm.

"I.. I just need you with both legs, that's all.", Ornstein said, head to the side, not having the courage to look the small Undead in the eyes.

"I, uh, better heal this wound.", Tempest said, getting up and limping away a few steps before taking a sip of his Estus. Ornstein was half aware that there was quite a bit of blood on his armour, where Tempest had landed.

It was a good thing that the Undead could heal themselves easily like this. Still, this must have been hurt.

"What about the mimic?", Ornstein asked, but his question was answered as he saw the mimic dissipating and leaving the item behind it had stored. He went to pick it up.

"A crystal shield.", he said, tossing it to Tempest. "I think we surely are on to something."

Tempest didn't react fast enough to catch the shield and dropped it. He quickly bent down to pick it up.

"So now what? Shall we search for books about crystals?"

"...I am more interested in the experiments Seath had planned. We should head back to the prison tower."

"Ugh.", Tempest didn't seem to be too keen about this. "I don't want to see this tentacle thingies again."

"The what?"

"There were these strange creatures, like half snake, half squid? Disgusting."

"Sounds like something Seath would do. Let's see if we can find the way back to the tower."

The next hour was spent trying to find the way through the giant library, dealing with the various crystal hollows, a lot of them archers, and two more channelers on the way. They also managed to pick up another twinkling titanite and a crystal sorcery on the way. After a short while the both of them already had enough of this place.

"I swear, when I got one more arrow stuck into me, I'll scream.", Tempest said after removing one of said errors and taking a sip of his estus, frowning as he saw how little of the orange liquid was left.

"At least you can heal yourself.", Ornstein said.

"Yes, but you are wearing full body armour."

"That doesn't mean that the arrows can't get stuck in the joints."

"You are still more protected than me."

"Why don't you just block the arrows with that shield of yours?"

"Oh yes, I would do that, when I could actually see where these things are coming from!"

Shrugging, Ornstein wandered farther: "Hm, just were was this balcony that led to the tower again... I knew that I completely missed it the first time..."

"Hey, there is a balcony, maybe it's there!", Tempest pointed into a room with his sword and then promptly was struck with another arrow.

Ornstein winced as the small Undead cried out an ear piercing scream in his anger, rushing into the room. A few sounds of fireballs thrown at a crystal later Tempest returned.

"This room leads down, you said the balcony to the tower led up."

Ornstein reached over wordlessly and pulled the arrow out of Tempest, who hissed in pain, sipping his estus. "Well, that was it with healing."

"Just put this shield of yours to good use.", Ornstein said, slightly annoyed. "Let's search for the right way."

A few rotating stair cases and two dead channelers later, Ornstein finally walked past the balcony he had searched. "I swear, this door looks super inconspicuous.", he murmured, scratching his lion helmet. "Let's go, little storm."

Said little storm, looking more than battered up, followed Ornstein and said, with his hands thrown in the air: "By the gods, finally. Up there is a bonfire! I really need this right now!"

On the way up, a couple of more crystal hollows stood in their way which were quickly dispatched by Ornstein's spear. Then, they stood in front of the massive door.

Which had been brutally blasted open and sadly squeaked in its hinges. "Oh right.", Ornstein scraped the ground with his foot.

"At least it saved me searching for the key.", Tempest grinned.

A few dead snake soldiers later they sat in the cell Tempest apparently had been locked into where the small Undead eagerly filled up his estus flask at the bonfire.

"I saw them at Sen's Fortress.", he said, pointing at the snake soldiers. "Why are they here too?"

"Seath's creations.", Ornstein answered. "He simply gave a few of them out for Lord Gwyn to use and he decided to use them in Sen's Fortress. This place was usually a training ground for the silver knights. And to be honest, little storm, I have no clue how you survived this place."

"I didn't survive it, I made it through it.", Tempest said. "I died a dozen times or more in there. It was a bit better once I made it out in the open. Even though fire suddenly rained from the skies. And then... I ran into one of the Astora elite knights."

"Hm? I am pretty sure Lord Gwyn never had any Astora elite knights in his army."

"No no no, that's not what I meant, this was an Undead like me, but hollow. I think. He attacked right away with a bow. And when I got close enough he had this super fast rapier. I actually died to him. And even worse, I missed the bonfire up there the first time so I had to cross the fortress another time!"

"Yes, it is pretty hidden.", Ornstein grinned under his helmet. The silver knights didn't had the ability came back. Anyone who couldn't run the gauntlet hadn't been cut out to be a silver knight.

Although, this place probably had become worse over the centuries.

"Well, I managed to find the bonfire the second time. Sometimes little notes appear on the ground and they helped me find it."

"Ah yes, the orange soapstone. Someone of another time left a note for you to find." Time in Lordran was convoluted and some special stones were able to exist through this convolution. As the little orange notes. Even Ornstein was able to lay them down, but without an army to lead there was no need to anymore.

"And then I went back to this guy. I died a few more times, but eventually I managed to overcome him and when I picked up his rapier, I recognized it. This was Ricard, the Undead Prince. It is said that he set out on his journey ages ago! Running into such a legend felt...special."

"I don't have a clue who you are talking about. I don't give much about human heroes or legends."

"Of course not, you are a legend yourself. Anyway, behind him there were a few chests, one contained a ring and one contained this."

Tempest produced a bottle with a shining liquid. Ornstein recognized it at once.

"A divine blessing... They have become rare nowadays. Actually, when you fought us, Smough and I were running out of them. Only one left... I left it in his grave."

"...Take it, Ornstein. I can heal up with my estus, but you can't. I am sure you can put it to good use." Tempest practically shoved the item into Ornstein's hand.

Ornstein eyed it for a few seconds, before shoving it back. "No, you take it. I can take care of myself. When I see how fast your estus depletes, you are the better choice to hold onto it."

Tempest stared from the divine blessing to Ornstein to the divine blessing again. "But...", he started.

"You said you were following my orders.", Ornstein threatened. Tempest winced and quickly stored the item back in his belongings.

"Now then, we have rested enough. We should move on.", Ornstein stood up, using his spear for support.

Tempest followed him: "Hm, when I was the first time here, there was this spooky tune playing, but I couldn't hear anything this time." He went to glance over the side of the landing they were one: "Probably a good thing, it made these tentacle thingies wild the last time."

Ornstein followed Tempest to look down too: "I guess this machine down there made the sound. Well, it seems we can descend freely now that it is off."

On their way down, Ornstein noticed the various cell doors: "Do you have a key to open them?"

"Yes.", Tempest pulled a key out of his pocket. "But I don't think we would find anything there. I only see Crystal Hollows." He poked one of them with his sword during the bars which promptly made the hollow groan and crash against the bars, making Tempest jump back. "Definitely prefer to not open them."

"Hollowed out prisoners are indeed of no help.", Ornstein said, glancing in every cell they came along their way down. Once they were at the bottom, Tempest pointed at an opening in the wall.

"There they are! The tentacle thingies!", he exclaimed. "Ew, all of them are at one place."

"...Let's just get this over with. I see a rather large cell behind them. Maybe we can find something in there.", Ornstein readied his spears.

For a few minutes the sound of lighting and thrown fireballs were heard as the two worked themselves through the creatures. After they were done, Tempest sipped on his estus (he had been grabbed once) and then bend down to pick something up.

"Miracles.", he said upon inspecting them.

"Let me see this.", Ornstein came nearer to take a look and gasped. "Seath, that bastard... I always assumed that he had been the one to abduct Princess Gwynevere's maidens. This is proof!"

"What are you talking about?", Tempest asked, confusion in his eyes.

"These miracles are granted by Lady Gwynevere herself. Bountiful Sunlight and Soothing Sunlight. Healing miracles that were often used by her or her maidens. But some of her maidens disappeared one day. We never could find them and now I know why, when they turned into this.."

Ornstein pointed at the burned and shocked mass of bodies in front of them. Tempest, however, didn't seem too listen. Instead, he had turned to the cell, shouting: "Logan?! You here?!"

Orstein turned around to listen in as a male voice answered: "Hello again. What a chance meeting this is!"

The voice belonged to an Undead sorcerer with a comical big hat. That wasn't his business. Probably someone Tempest had met on his travels through Lordran.

"Why is it that I always seem to find you behind bars?", Tempest chuckled.

That Logan guy smiled sadly: "Alas, I am imprisoned once again. I don't suppose you could stage me a getaway? I surely hope it isn't our fate to always meet when I am behind bars."

"Aw, come on, Logan, this place simply is dangerous. I myself needed help to get here.", he pointed at Ornstein.

"Oh, are you having a new companion?", Logan asked. Tempest had an awkward smile on his face.

"That is... kind of a long story. I am sure we can safe this for a later time."

This Logan guy didn't seem to recognize him. Ah well, Ornstein was more a legend among the knights and not a legend among the sorcerers.

"So, my dear friend, do you have a key that could help me out? The Archives, such a storehouse of knowledge. So close, but just out of reach! The thought offends me so, I could simply die! As a student of the arts, you understand me, yes?", Logan said.

"Hm, I have found a key, maybe it works here.", Tempest presented the cell key and tried to get it into the lock. "It doesn't work.", he noticed sadly. "Please don't die, Logan, I am sure we will find a way to get you out of here."

"You Undead can't die anyway.", Ornstein interfered and felt both gazes of the Undeads on him, shrinking a little, quickly changing the subject. "Hey, um, Logan was your name?", he started. "You said that you wanted to research the archives? Have you seen anything interesting, like a book or notes, before you got caught?" It was a blind guess, but the best Ornstein had. The sorcerer surely hadn't been snatched away and dragged to the archives before he entered them.

"Hmmmm... yes, indeed. I have seen a place worth investigating, but before I could set a foot into there myself, I was found and captured. A library next to the large room, there was a hollow archer and a ladder led down to it."

"Wait a moment! I have seen this place!", Tempest exclaimed, both hands clutching his gargoyle helmet. "You remember the archer I took out because I was done with getting struck with arrows? That room matches the description."

"Very well then, let's go there and see if we can find something.", Ornstein turned around.

"If you find a key, would you be so kind to come back and stage my getaway?", Logan asked. Tempest turned around and gave him an "Of course." with a smile. Ornstein only hmphed.

"Maybe I should open up the cells now, the key could be there...", Tempest muse.

"Why should a cell key be in another cell? That doesn't make any sense.", Ornstein grumbled. "Let's just search this library out. We are on a mission. Should we find the key by chance, we can go and free him."

Tempest nodded slowly: "Well, alright..."


	14. Chapter 14

Summary: Tempest and Ornstein find out about Seath's secret. It is time to challenge the paledrake.

(Author's note: I just want to thank anybody who has been a continued supporter of this story and any new reader. This fic got quite some attention and I am often baffled by it, because I made it up on a whim. Even now, most actions from Ornstein and Tempest happen when they tell me what they do, I just give them the general direction.

And now that this is said, let's see how they fare against Seath.)

On their way back to the room that Logan had described, Tempest and Ornstein had to take care of all the crystallized hollows and unfortunately the channelers again. Resting at a bonfire would naturally bring hollows back to life, but just how many channelers had Seath to spare?

Ornstein sighed as they hacked and slayed their way back through the archives. When they were out on the balconies, Tempest got curious enough to look down and noticed a garden with an awful large number of crystal golems in it. Ornstein just dragged him along, they got sidetracked enough already. Luckily soon after Tempest managed to spot the room, excitedly pointed to it and then ran into it screaming when another arrow got stuck in his shoulder.

Ornstein followed Tempest and watched as he hacked the archer down with his sword all while calling obscenities. Ornstein leaned against the wall, letting the scene play out as Tempest managed to kill the archer and looked up, freezing when he saw Ornstein, who simply scolded: "Language. Keep this words for Seath."

"Sorry.", Tempest kicked the corpse of the crystal hollow down the ledge. After a while a thud was heard. Tempest pointed to the ladder. "We can go down there."

"You can use it, I am fine with jumping.", Ornstein replied and hopped off before Tempest could say anything, landing effortlessly on the floor. Tempest soon followed, sliding down the ladder. Ornstein wondered if that didn't hurt his hands, but the little storm was wearing leather gloves which surely helped.

Once down, he looked around. Ornstein did the same. Indeed, there was another section with books. With how hidden it was, it was a good bet that they would find something worthwhile here.

"There is a lever there.", Tempest pointed to the lever and rushed forward to push it. Ornstein internally groaned.

"Why do you push levers you have no clue what they are doing, little storm?", he scolded.

"What, do you think it was trapped?", Tempest asked with an astounded sound in his voice. It turned out, the lever wasn't trapped. Instead, it opened up a secret passage.

"Hey, that was the room from before!", Tempest said and then exclaimed: "I can spot a bonfire!" Before Ornstein could say anything, the little storm had rushed out already and Ornstein dashed behind him, taking care of several crystal hollows in this room. Once Tempest had reached the bonfire and lighted it, Ornstein stood behind him in his full size, gaze dark, even though it couldn't be seen through his helmet.

"What have I said about rushing forwards, little storm?", Ornstein growled.

Tempest shrank under his tone, muttering: "Sorry, sorry... I won't do it again."

"Good.", Ornstein picked Tempest up at the collar and dragged him back to the secret library. "And now we do what we came here for in the first place! Take a look around! Just... do something useful!"

Tempest sneaked away after that scolding and Ornstein took a look at the books. Hopefully he would find something worthwhile. He was distracted though when the sounds of a fight wandered to his ears.

"What now?", Ornstein shouted and rushed over to see Tempest locked in a fight with a mimic. At least this time he seemed to have checked. The archives seemed to be as infested with them as Anor Londo.

Ornstein readied his spear and helped Tempest out by dealing the finishing blow on the mimic with a thrust. The mimic died with a last groan and spat out its contents.

"By looking around I meant find something to read not loot this place!", he hissed.

"But... but maybe we could find something interesting in this chests? This is why I wanted to check". Tempest tried to defend himself, picking the item up. "It's a falchion, but it looks different.", he murmured.

"It's enchanted.", Ornstein said. He recognized this type of ascension right away. "Sorcerer's like to use enchanted weapons, because they react to their magic and will hit harder this way. For anyone who isn't attuned with sorcery, it's worthless."

"Hmmm...", Tempest pocketed the item even though Ornstein hadn't seen him use a single sorcery yet. Then he went to inspect the other chests around, giving each one of them a good hit with his sword. Ornstein should probably teach him how to spot the mimics at the subtle difference, but with the little storm he felt it was safer for him to check every time.

Ornstein turned around and put his attention back at the books. He scanned the backs until he found something that piqued his interest. It looked like one of Seath's scientist journals. He picked up the book and flipped it open.

A few minutes after he had flipped through the pages, trying to find something interesting to stop, he heard Tempest's voice behind him: "Hey Ornstein, look."

Ornstein turned around to see Tempest in a complete channeler set, holding the trident he had picked up earlier, making an impression of that ridiculous dance they always did. Ornstein could just stare: "What are you doing, idiot?"

"Aw, you don't laugh at all. You are no fun."

"Just... stop fooling around and help me researching already." Ornstein's patience grew thin. Tempest came over and laid a few items down in front of Ornstein.

"Can anything of this help with fighting Seath?", he asked.

Ornstein sighed, but took a look at the items anyway. One was a blue titanite chunk, the other was more interesting. "Would you look at this, a crystal ember.", Ornstein said. "You should give this to the giant blacksmith, that is the only one who knows how to use this. Like I said, I am not fond of crystal weapons, but if you want to try and use them, this is how you are able to get more once they break."

"What about the other item?", Tempest pointed at the blue titanite chunk.

"That's just used for magic weapons, useless for us.", Ornstein said, shaking his head.

"...I also found this key...", Tempest raised the key and Ornstein swore he would have seen the glittering in his eyes when he wouldn't still wear this ridiculous channeler outfit. "Maybe this opens up the cell? For Logan I mean? ...Can... can we go back, please?"

"...We haven't found out anything yet and you want to venture out in the archives again?", Ornstein growled a bit more than he wanted.

"...It's just... Logan is a sorcerer. He probably can help us deciphering this texts. Don't you think?"

...The little storm had a point. Ornstein never had tried to understand sorcery and had to admit that a lot of Seath's notes were overly confusing for him.

"..Alright.", he gave in. "But only when you change out of this ridiculous outfit."

A good while later the sorcerer had been freed and walked back with them to the library. On the way, Tempest talked a bit to him. Ornstein only half listened. Tempest had found a fire keeper soul in the cell, which made Ornstein wonder if Seath even had dared to experiment on one of them.

Just as Tempest told Logan that he had enough brains to understand basic magic but didn't fully grasp it and Logan answered, that he just needed to train his wits more for that, they reached the secret library.

"Alright, no more fooling around!", Ornstein said, pointing at the books around them. "We have to find out what Seath's weak point is, so get reading, little storm!"

"I am going to find out more about his magic.", Logan said in his calm voice and retreated into a rather dark corner of the library. Ornstein picked up the book he had searched through earlier again and Tempest walked along the shelves, eventually picking out a book.

Ornstein had flipped through three books already, finding nothing worthwhile to actually stop and reading, when Tempest breathed in sharply next to him, staring at his book with an open mouth.

"Have you found something?!", Ornstein abandoned his book and stared at Tempest.

"N..No.. it's just." The face of the small Undead flashed red. "...Read for yourself." He handed the book to Ornstein.

Ornstein took one look at the lines and knew exactly what Tempest had meant. He apparently had decided to read Seath's diary and the paledrake had used some rather... flowery words to describe a juicy scene.

"So that's where he got the inspiration for his cursed book.", Ornstein muttered under his breath.

"Book?", Tempest asked.

"The 'Grimoire of the forbidden fruits'. It wouldn't surprise me when it is around here anywhere. I told you about Seath's nature. Well, once he wrote a book about his favourite past time. It's awful, but people loved it because it was so bad. Artorias actually owned this book. We sometimes quoted lines from it when we needed a quick laugh."

Tempest face followed Ornstein during all his words and Ornstein could see the exact moment where he understood as his lips formed a silent "oh".

"Well, let's search farther. And when you intend on keeping reading Seath's diary, just skim that parts."

Tempest nodded and they read along in silence for a good while. How long? Two or three hours? Enough for Ornstein to grow cramped and hungry. Time for a break. He put the book down he had flipped through and searched for something to eat. As he chewed on the dried meat, he noticed that he managed to miss Tempest's cooking.

As Tempest noticed that Ornstein had taken a break, he looked up from his book and said: "In this one Seath is mentioning something about having a daughter. Does this count as weakness? I mean, if we can find her, maybe we can blackmail him into spitting his weakness?"

Ornstein swallowed his current mouthful and rinsed it with a sip of water. "That's not very chivalry, I wouldn't help you by this. Besides, Seath's daughter has long been shut away. And even if she would still be around, she is half dragon. She would completely wipe the floor with you."

Memories of Priscilla briefly flashed through Ornstein's mind. An extraordinary powerful child, but her powers inflicted fear in the inhabitants of the cathedral. Eventually, Lord Gwyn had deciced to look her away in a Painted World. Ornstein wondered if she was still in there and if yes, what she was doing?

"Oh...", Tempest silently replied to him and continued reading.

After eating, Ornstein excused himself to step out for a brief moment and upon his return, he saw Tempest talk with Logan. He was curious enough to listen in, so Ornstein walked over and squatted down. They were talking about crystal magic. Apparently, Logan tried to recreate the spells that Seath had invented.

"Why are you listening so intensely when you aren't a sorcerer yourself?", Ornstein whispered to Tempest.

"I still find the theory fascinating.", Tempest replied, eyes glued on Logan.

Ornstein sighed quietly and sat down, deciding to listening in. His own research had brought him nowhere and Tempest reading the diaries only had unearthed things about Seath he wanted to forget.

"So this magic is able to infuse a weapon with crystal magic, which increases each blow immensely. It also comes with the advantage, that you can use a common weapon for it, one that can be repaired. And the spell gives it the strength of a crystal weapon.", Logan explained.

Ornstein knew that neither he or Tempest had much use for this magic. Ornstein's weapon was unable to be effected by magic, being imbued with lightning already and Tempest clearly couldn't use such an advanced spell.

"When I found the theory for this spell, I also found the fascinating theory about imbuing your own life force in a crystal. Practically giving you immortality, not like the one the Undeath grants, but true immortality, like the ones of the ancient arch dragons. Isn't that fascinating?"

Well, that was FAR more interesting.

"Wait, that's it!", Ornstein exclaimed. "That was it what Seath had searched! A way to immortality! He surely has a crystal like this hidden somewhere!"

"It's just the question... where.", Tempest said, gloomily looking around. "This place is large."

Ornstein crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side which made his ponytail brush the ground: "Think more rational about this. Would you hide something like a crystal which holds your life essence directly next to you?"

Tempest shook his head: "No, I wouldn't. I probably would hide it somewhere where nobody would ever think to look. Still near enough that I can find it though..."

"I have the feeling Seath would hide a crystal in a crystal. And where have we seen many of his golems?"

"The gardens!", Tempest exclaimed. "Where we could look down from the balconies!"

"It's just the question how we get there...", Ornstein mused. "Maybe jumping down? You wouldn't survive this though."

"Oh, I have seen another lever in here. Maybe it opens up a secret passage."

Ornstein blinked before he stared at Tempest: "So why haven't you pulled the lever yet?!"

"Because you have said me I shouldn't pull levers without knowing what they do!"

Ornstein sighed. He indeed had Tempest told that. He put his helmet back on and got up, spear ready. "Let's... let's just go and see what the lever does."

"I just stay here and continue my research. Come if you have the need for some sorceries.", Logan mentioned before the two left for the lever. Tempest gave him a smile and a nod.

Soon the lever had been pulled and indeed some stairs appeared. When they went down these stairs, they got attacked by another crystal hollow who wasn't a match for their combined force. Tempest slowly crept forward, looking everywhere for hints of other enemies before stepping outside on a small balcony, shouting: "The gardens! That lever really led to them!" Ornstein followed his voice and let his gaze wander across the gardens.

"These are quite a few golems.", he said. "That could be a hard piece of work dismantling them all. Let's get started, little storm."

Without waiting Ornstein jumped down and landed perfectly on both of his feet like a cat would land on all four of its paws while Tempest decided to slid down the ladder. Ornstein already had the first golem engaged in battle when Tempest caught up and nearly got hit by an uppercut which he avoided with a dodge roll.

"Ornstein, do you really think we will find Seath's secret in one of the golems?", he asked as he sliced across the golem's arm which made rainbows sparkle.

"It's our best guess for now.", Ornstein drove his spear as deep in the golem's chest as he could, which still wasn't much. "This is a hassle with bladed weapons, but we have no other choice."

The duo hacked their way through a few more crystal golems when they engaged one of the golden ones. "Another one of these?", Ornstein murmured. "They are stronger than the rest, careful, little storm."

"I know!", Tempest called while jumping back so that a row of crystals couldn't hit him. Luckily, as Ornstein kept the golem busy from the front, Tempest managed to get a good hit on its back and the creature soon crumbled... and something came out.

Not the crystal they searched though, but an onion shaped knight. Tempest's eyes grew wide once he saw them.

"Siegmeyer?", he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Siegmeyer? No.", a woman's voice sounded tinny through the round helmet. "I am Sieglinde of Catarina. Siegmeyer is my father. Have you seen him?" Sieglinde got up and put the large sword she carried over her shoulder. "But first, I must thank you for my rescue. I don't know how I ended up in that crystal. It wasn't terrible in there, but I could hardly move. I should find a way to repay you both."

"I don't need anything.", Ornstein bluntly said which earned him a gloomy gaze from Tempest.

"She just tries to be nice.", he said and then smiled at Sieglinde. "It's very nice to meet you, Sieglinde. I am Tempest and this is my companion, Ornstein. Please don't mind him, he usually is a bit grumpy."

Ornstein huffed at this comment.

"It has been nice to meet you too.", Sieglinde said and gave a small bow, however this had been possible in that onion shaped armour. "You have mentioned the name of my father, Siegmeyer? He wears the exact same suit of armour as me, so you couldn't have missed him."

"Yes, indeed, I have met him several times. Though I don't know where he is right now.", Tempest replied.

"Thank goodness! I knew he was here somewhere. Well then, now I must find him. Thanks again. Truly. Now if he'll just stay put, and keep out of trouble."

After she had spoken these words, Sieglinde already was off.

"Staying out of trouble? Siegmeyer?", Tempest rolled his eyes as he watched her disappear.

"Sounds like he usually draws trouble near.", Ornstein mentioned.

"Oh, Ornstein, when you thought I was bad, you haven't met Siegmeyer! Every time I met him he was in some kind of a 'pickle' like he put it and only moved on after I cleared the way for him. The last time I met him in Anor Londo, when we trained. And he had already stood there before I fought you."

"Wait... that has been weeks! He has stood there all these time without moving on?!", Ornstein couldn't believe what he just had heard.

"Yes, but because of your training and because I used to parry practice the silver knights in the nights often, I managed to get rid of the ones in his way. He gave me a ring and the next night he was gone."

"I am still not over the fact that there seems to be a person who is worse at this whole Undead thing than you are...", Ornstein murmured. "Let's search further, we have found a person but we are searching for a crystal."

"Understood.", Tempest glanced back at the balcony where Sieglinde had vanished one last time before following Ornstein.

Ornstein didn't knew how much time had passed when they slew the last crystal golem in the garden.

"Nothing, really?", Tempest fell on his rear with a thud, throwing his sword on the ground. "All this work and all we got were a few chunks?"

"...Maybe Seath didn't hid his crystal in a golem...", Ornstein said, slowly turning around, scanning the area. "Or have we overlooked one of them...?" His eyes spotted another golem he nearly had overlooked because its body was standing on a ground made of solid crystals itself.

"Wait... there is another one.", Ornstein pointed in the direction of the golem. Tempest was on his feet in an instant, bowed down to fumble for his sword and then rushed off.

"That's so typical for the little storm.", Ornstein murmured to himself, following the small undead who engaged in combat with the crystal golem. At least he was doing pretty well on his own, after fighting all this golems in the garden he seemed to get a hang of it. After the golem fell, nothing popped out of it, but Tempest turned around and looked at a path that led down into some kind of cave.

"Ornstein... maybe Seath has hidden the crystal here.", Tempest called, waving with his sword. "After all, we assumed that he would hide a crystal within another crystal! Why not put it in a place made out of crystals? That is the same as hiding a tree in a forest!"

"Indeed, you are on to something.", Ornstein said and walked over to Tempest where he almost slipped and fell. That place was quite slippery. Ornstein decided to pay better attention to where he set both of his feet. Tempest didn't seem to have that much trouble, but Ornstein guessed that his leather boots were more grippy than Ornstein's plate ones.

After Ornstein had caught up, they continued on the path. It soon made a sharp turn which Tempest followed, dropping down a little ledge. He waited for Ornstein securely landing next to him before pointing up at a Moonlight Butterfly.

"I fought one of these in the Darkroot Garden.", he said. "I thought that had been the only one..."

"Moonlight Butterfly, a creation of Seath.", Ornstein explained. "A bug that can use moonlight magic with the help of its horn. They are territorial, so if you don't get too close, they leave you alone."

"That is good to hear. I am not too eager fighting one of them again.", Tempest said, gaze wandering over the cave. "Or five. They are an awful lot of them here."

He continued on walking carefully at the edge of the crystalline path but coming back once he reached its end.

"Strange, the path ends here.", he murmured. "But I can see the path continuing over there." Tempest pointed at the mentioned direction. "There must be a way to get over there? I mean, without being able to fly."

Ornstein squinted at the path in the distance. There was another crystal golem on it. It must have been able to come there somehow. Also, something felt off. He heard this tinkling sound but there wasn't water near and it also didn't rain... Then he noticed it.

There was some crystalline snow falling from the cave ceiling and the snow very clearly landed on a solid path. Sold, but invisible. "Little storm, there is a path there.", Ornstein said. "We just need to take a step forward."

Tempest stared at Ornstein as if he had lost all his marbles. "This would be a fall that certainly would kill me. And you too."

"Trust me on that.", Ornstein said and indeed took a step forward, his foot hitting a solid path. "See?", Ornstein said, dragging the second foot along. "There is a path. You just have to walk where the snow hits it."

Tempest had gotten big eyes when he saw Ornstein step into the seemingly bottomless pit but didn't fell. He hesitantly came forward and followed Ornstein until they had crossed the invisible path in a painfully slow pace. Even though there was a path there, didn't mean that it was safe. It still went down very deep both sides on it and it was rather narrow.

"That was intense.", Tempest said as he released a breath he had been holding for some time.

"I have to say, stuff like this is typical for Seath.", Ornstein murmured.

Tempest already had his eyes on the golden golem. "There always has been something in them!", he shouted and rushed into battle. Ornstein sighed, got his spear into position and wanted to help the little storm just as he misplaced a roll and tumbled down the edge, the surprised scream of the small Undead tingling in Ornstein's ears.

"Seriously?!", Ornstein exclaimed. The golden golem now devoid of his usual prey, had taken a rather large interest in him. Ornstein knew he would be able to fight it, but the fact that the fall in case of a mistake was very deep and that he surely had to escort the idiot back again to this place once he had came back to life as the bonfire, made Ornstein retreat for now. He found the path back only to notice that the golden golem followed him.

At least now Ornstein could lure it to a place where it was easier to fight. Once the dragon slayer had crossed the path back, he picked up the fight against the golem and won even though he managed to slip and fall pretty hard on his rear once he delivered the final blow.

At least the little storm hadn't been there to see this.

Oh well, time to head back to the bonfire.

When Tempest finished reappearing (a quite fascinating process to watch), Ornstein was about to open his mouth to scold Tempest, but the raspy voice of his hollowed out form was the first to speak: "...That death was idiotic! Now Ornstein surely will call me an idiot again..."

"I was just about too.", Ornstein replied, making Tempest wince like a dog that had been caught stealing food from the kitchen.

"Oh, Ornstein, you are here?", he whimpered.

"Of course. I was asked to escort you. I have to stay at your side for this."

"I guess...", Tempest rummaged around for a humanity. Ornstein watched with fascination as the small black sprite vanished and merged with Tempest's skin. Only a short while later, he had his human face back.

"I try and take better care now...", he said and stood up.

"So, did the fall hurt?", Ornstein asked.

"Oh, you don't even know!"

As they stood back at the entrance to the garden, Tempest whined when he saw that all the crystal golems had reformed: "Do we have to fight all of them AGAIN?"

"No, I scouted the area when I went back to the bonfire.", Ornstein replied. "When we go left right after we come the balcony, we will reach the crystal area again. We still have to fight a few of them, but not all of them."

"Let's go then.", Tempest already slid down the ladder.

A short while later they had returned to their previous location right before the invisible path. Tempest had his eyes on a certain location. "I want to get all these souls back.", he said.

"Souls?", Ornstein asked. "Oh, you mean your soul power? Oh right, I forgot that you Undead carry them around and have to channel them through a bonfire."

Tempest stared at Ornstein with wide eyes. "Wait, you tell me that isn't the norm?!"

"No, not at all.", Ornstein explained. "Normally, anything you kill will give you their soul power and your own soul absorbs it. The more soul power you have, the bigger you usually get. There is a way to control this process though or we all would have the size of giants."

"Wait, that's the reason you are so huge?", Tempest seemed to be in awe.

"Yes.", Ornstein simply said and then continued. "Though I have been bigger than you already before I gained my soul power. Anyway, for you Undead, it is different. Any soul power you gain desperately tries to fill the hollowness in your dark sign, so you work as walking soul pouches."

"...That kind of makes sense...", Tempest murmured. "But right now I don't have any souls with me, they are all there where I died!"

"I can't see anything...", Ornstein murmured, trying very hard to spot what Tempest mentioned. Souls normally would have a white shimmer to it or a golden, when it was a lord soul. Or be black and wrong, when it was an abyss corrupted soul.

"Maybe you can't see it like I do...", Tempest said. "It looks like a blood stain. It won't stay there forever. I only managed to pick up any lost souls when I didn't die again."

"So you shouldn't fall again.", Ornstein stated and Tempest nodded.

"How shall we fight this thing?", Tempest pointed at the golden golem.

"Little storm, when you were busy being transported to the bonfire, what did you think I had to do. Deal with an angry golden golem while being painfully aware that a fall of this height would be the end for me."

Tempest scraped the ground with his foot, gaze averted: "Sorry."

"Let's lure him here where there is more room, that is how I won the first time."

"Wait, you already won? What was in the golem?"

"Surprisingly, nothing."

"Damn.", Tempest said as he got his bow and arrow ready. "I will shoot at it so it will come over."

Ornstein nodded. That was a good plan. The golem's were constructs and so not exactly known for their brains that they obviously didn't possess. It took Tempest's a few tries to get the arrows fly right, but once the first one had hit the golem, it turned around and straight up jumped into the abyss below.

"Hah, I am not the only one being an idiot!", Tempest cheered.

"That certainly was easier than fighting them.", Ornstein mentioned. "Come, let's move on, we have a crystal to find."

Navigating the invisible bridges turned out to be more difficult the farther they got into the caves, with the snow being nearly invisible. Eventually Tempest pulled out some prism stones and marked the way with them. Tempest seemed like he wanted to try and go a bit further, attempting to follow the more entwined paths, but he ran out of prism stones quickly and Ornstein deterred him from straying from the chosen path.

Soon the both stood in a rather wild field, looking around for clues.

That didn't last long though as a gigantic clam with legs came rushing towards them. "What the...?", Tempest said and picked up his sword with both hands, apparently thinking that his shield would be worthless for this fight. Ornstein, too, got into a battle stance and prepared the lightning powers of his spear when Tempest got tossed high into the air.

Ornstein bit back a curse and unleashed a fury of sparks at the clam. Like he thought, the creature didn't take kindly to this attack and so Ornstein was able to catch Tempest before he could impact with the floor.

"Th.. thank you.", Tempest gasped.

"I only saved you because I didn't want to take another trip back from the bonfire.", Ornstein said and lowered Tempest onto the ground. As Ornstein was busy determining if that clam was dead or just unconscious from the shock, Tempest turned around.

"Um, Ornstein?", he said.

"What?"

Ornstein twirled around only to see Tempest pointing dumbfounded at a whole group of clams. Apparently their fight apparently at least three of four more of them. "Oh, for crying out loud!", Ornstein cursed and hurled Tempest behind him as he collected the energy for a miracle in his left hand.

Ornstein completely knew that his miracles weren't as mighty anymore as they used to be. Especially the ones granted from the Sunfirstborn. But his faith was still strong enough to let a lightning spear hit all the clams at once which spasmed from the shock of the element.

"Now, little storm.", Ornstein said and took his own spears in both hands to finish one of them off. He could see out of the corner of his helmet that Tempest did the same next to him.

Once all the clams laid dead on the ground before them, Tempest stood there heavily breathing before his eyes got all sparkly: "That was AWESOME!"

"What?", Ornstein said, taking a step back. "That was nothing. My miracles used to be much much stronger."

"Are you kidding me? You managed to strike them all at once! And you tell me that wasn't your full power?" Tempest looked from the clams to Ornstein and back to the clams.

"I haven't been at my full power for some time now...", Ornstein replied, scanning the area if there were some other clams left. He couldn't spot any. What he could spot though, was the end of the cave.

"Is this a dead end?", he said and moved forward.

"Oh please no, I don't want to have come here for finding nothing at all...", Tempest groaned, stumbling behind Ornstein. Apparently he had gotten one or two hits in the fight with the clams. He pulled out his Estus flask to take a sip.

"How much is left?", Ornstein wanted to know.

"About half.", Tempest replied as he put the Estus flask back.

In the meantime, the both of them had arrived at the end of the cave, which actually was some kind of clearing, with the sun peeking through the opening, making the crystals glisten.

"This place is kind of beautiful.", Tempest said as he walked around, taking in the view. "In fact, a lot of things must have been beautiful once, before..." He didn't finish the sentence but Ornstein knew what he wanted to say. "Just... what happened here? Ornstein, you have been there, right?"

"That's a long story and we don't have time for this now.", Ornstein said, a warning growl in his voice. "Let's see if we can find this..." Ornstein stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted the very large crystal right in front of his nose. "...crystal."

"This must be it!", he exclaimed. "When we break this crystal, we should be able to attack Seath. Let me destroy it and then we head back to the archives."

Ornstein readied his spear to smash the crystal into bits, totally expecting to need more than one hit. While his spear could slice boulders with ease, crystals tended to be harder. However, just as he was about to swing, the crystal made an ear shattering piercing sound and Tempest voice sounded: "Uh, I don't think we have to head back to Seath..."

Before Ornstein could ask what this meant, he heard the flap of wings and the angry hiss of the paledrake, which apparently had been alarmed by the noise the crystal made and tossed his large body onto the ground of the cave. "Shit!", Ornstein hissed through clenched teeth. "Tempest, you have to distract him somehow, while I try and break this crystal!"

"Understood!", Tempest said and Ornstein put his attention back on the crystal, hitting it full force. Like expected, it didn't shatter but at least a crack had formed. He could hear Seath roar behind him and the sounds of the paledrake indicated that he came closer to his location. What was Tempest doing? Ornstein yanked his head around to see Tempest laying on the ground in what could only be described as a seductive pose.

"...What are you doing, idiot?", Ornstein shrieked at this ridiculousness.

"Hey, you said you wouldn't lay down lascivious on the ground!", Tempest screamed back.

"This won't work anymore, he's long gotten mad!", Ornstein yelled.

"Yeah and then why has the dragon stopped attacking?"

Ornstein suddenly was very aware that Seath was still very much in between them and slowly turned his head to look up at Seath. The paledrake hadn't stopped attacking. Instead, he was preparing a breath attack.

"Take cover!", Ornstein screamed at Tempest and jumped behind Seath himself, where a breath attack would never be able to hit. During this opportunity he bore his spear deep into the tail of Seath, but the wound healed instantly.

"That bastard, he really has bound his life force to this crystal.", Ornstein murmured and put his attention back to it. "Tempest, just... survive long enough for me to break that crystal."

"I'll try but I cannot promise anything!", Tempest yelled back. Ornstein could hear the sound of a small Undead circling the paledrake. Hopefully Seath would let himself distract long enough for Ornstein to break the crystal. He reached his weapon back and aimed for the crack in the crystal. It didn't completely suffice. Ornstein prepared a lunge and just as he jumped down on the crystal and it shattered Tempest was hurled at him, which made Ornstein fall over.

"Oh damn.", he said and struggled to get up. They still had a dragon to fight. Ornstein expected Tempest to get up on his own and heal himself with his Estus, but nothing happened. And right now, Seath seemed to be pissed that his crystal was destroyed, clearly preparing a devastating spell.

Ornstein glanced over at Tempest. He wasn't dead or he would turn into ashes, but he surely looked more dead than alive, probably just hanging at a sliver of his health, blood seeped out from a large wound on his head. Ornstein chucked Tempest over his shoulder and run away as far as he could in the limited room. As crystals emerged, Ornstein laid Tempest on the ground and fiddled for his Estus flask, forcing some of the liquid down his throat. The little Undead gasped as the liquid reached its destination and then coughed up some blood.

"Sorry, Ornstein, he got me with his tail..."

"Apologize later! For now, we have a dragon to slay!" Ornstein took his spear in both hands. "And this one I wanted to slay for a long time now!"

Ornstein practically threw himself into the battle, lunging forward and then elegantly twirled around as Seath tried to swipe at him, a thrust going directly into the tail of the paledrake. Seath screamed in pain and Ornstein knew, the crystal indeed had been his weak point. He was vulnerable now.

"Little storm, attack him!", Ornstein screamed and the little Undead ran forward, slicing one of Seath's tentacles with his sword. Hot dragon blood splattered out of the wound and Seath's attention was brought back to Tempest. Ornstein used the opportunity to get another thrust into the tail and another as the paledrake was torn between taking care of his attacker from the front or the one tormenting his tail. While Ornstein managed to slowly sever the tail Tempest wasn't idle and constantly sliced a new wound in any part of Seath's body that wasn't covered in crystals.

Eventually Ornstein finally managed to get the tail loose right as Seath finally had decided for an attack and slammed both of his tentacles down hard on the ground. Ornstein managed to get out of the way, Tempest wasn't so lucky but this time managed to drink from his Estus himself.

Blood gushed out Seath from several wounds and especially the severed tail. Ornstein was sure he was weakened enough now to not be able to counter a direct attack to his head.

"Watch a dragon slayer at work.", he said, jumping on Seath's back and from there to his neck, his spear driving deep into it, forcing the paledrake's head to the ground which shrieked in pain and protest.

"Finish him off.", Ornstein commanded Tempest. He would have liked to do it himself, but the lord soul was supposed to go to the Undead, not him. Tempest didn't had to be asked twice before he reached out with his sword and bore it deep into the forehead of Seath.

The paledrake shrieked in agony and pain for a few seconds before he stopped moving and kept laying bleeding and beat on the ground. Ornstein casually removed his spear with one hand from the neck and hopped from his back.

Tempest just stood there, breathing heavily. "That was... intense...", he said, before opening his hand and staring at the golden glowing shard of a lord soul. "Is that it...? That's the...?", he asked, staring at Ornstein, practically vibrating.

"Yes, that is a shard of Lord Gwyn's soul of fire.", Ornstein replied. "Seath has gotten a rather large part of it, so it should be enough to satisfy the lordvessel."

"...", Tempest seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Shouldn't you be happy about your victory?", Ornstein asked.

Tempest shook his head. "Without you I would have died again. Probably over and over. I thought I had died when he got me with the tail, but when I came back too, you were there. Ornstein... thank you. I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help."

Ornstein would have been lying when he would have said that wasn't touched by this. The little storm genuinely meant this words. He felt himself blush under his helmet, however, the words that came out from him were blatantly different from his feelings: "I.. I just help you because Gwyndolin ordered me too. That's all."

"I know.", Tempest said. Ornstein was surprised to see that a grin had formed on his face. "I am still glad that you are here. Just take a compliment when you get one."

That hit right in Ornstein's chest. Not only did Tempest look so cute when he grinned like that, also the words he had spoken... even though that he knew that Ornstein was doing all this only because he had been ordered too, he still was grateful. Ornstein suddenly felt very bad for the fate that the small Undead would suffer.

Now that the fight was over, all adrenaline seemed to leave the little storm's body and he plopped down near the newly appeared bonfire. He glanced over where the severed tail of Seath was laying.

"Ornstein, why were you so eager to cut off this tail?", Tempest asked.

"Because...", Ornstein started, searching for the right words. "Because... I always wanted to cut off his tail. Granted, not this tail, but he didn't had the other one when in dragon form."

"What...?", Tempest stared at Ornstein with squinted eyes.

"I can explain you this another time.", Ornstein said, strolling over to the severed tail. "Looking at this, I think it may form a weapon." He bent down and picked the tail up, grabbing for the bone and pulling something out that was a great sword which glowed with a green shimmer.

"A magic weapon...", Ornstein said. "Why did Seath had this in his tail? It probably formed when he crystallized himself." Ornstein came over to Tempest and set the sword down. "Keep it, if you want. I don't think you have much use for it though."

"I totally will keep it!", Tempest said maybe a little too quick. Ornstein stared at him with furrowed brows. Even though the small Undead couldn't see his face through the lionet helmet, it seemed to come through.

"It's just... I want to keep it as a trophy. Besides..."

"Besides what?"

"Oh nothing."

As he said that, Tempest had kind of a blissful smile on his face.


	15. Chapter 15

Summary: The duo has a moment of peace at Fire Link Shrine.

(Author's note: A bit of a shorter chapter this time. Now that Seath has been dealt with, I need to set a few things up. I also wanted to explore a few headcanons. I hope you enjoy and stay with this duo at their journey to get the other three lord souls.

Also, I decided to use both the POV of Tempest and Ornstein even in a single chapter. It is far easier for me. Tell me when it gets confusing. I promise the POV will never shift away from our main characters though.)

Tempest couldn't get enough from the warm, glowing soul he cradled into his hands.

This was part of a lord soul. A real one. And he had been the one to receive it.

Granted, he wouldn't have done it without Ornstein's help. Tempest should cook his favourite meal when they had a moment of rest.

Right now, the dragon slayer didn't looked like he was eager to eat anything at all. He sat on the ground next to Tempest at the Fire Link Shrine bonfire, his helmet removed and having a rather green colour in his face.

Tempest just wanted to test if the warping powers of the lordvessel could been activated when he would have someone with him and indeed, it worked. But through this he also learned that Ornstein didn't take easy to magic teleportation.

"Are you feeling better?", Tempest asked after a good while of silence.

"...The next time you ask before I get a surprise teleportation.", Ornstein murmured.

Ah good, he was talking again. For a moment Tempest had been worried that Ornstein would vomit all over the Fire Link Shrine, so sick had he looked.

"...sorry.", Tempest said, gaze locking back onto the soul he got from Seath.

"...You are awfully fond of this thing already.", Ornstein said.

Tempest eyes lightened up: "Because it is a lord soul. A real one! I never thought I would see one, much less that I would be the one holding it in their hands! I just... have a hard time grasping it, that's all." He looked at Ornstein and his eyes softened: "This wouldn't have been possible without your help, you know this."

"And I already said to you, I only fulfilled my duties."

"Still!", Tempest said out loud. "...Say, Ornstein, don't you have a part of the lord soul too? Does your soul look as beautiful as this?"

"What? You don't expect me I can just rip it out my body to show you? That isn't how this works!"

"No, but I mean, you must have merged your soul with the lord soul part somehow, right? And haven't you seen it then?"

Ornstein looked down at Tempest, studying the face of the little Undead. He had this big curious eyes again. Biting back a sigh, he began to explain: "When I got the part of the lord soul, I indeed merged it with my own, but that wasn't done by pulling my soul out of my body. Instead, I inserted the part into my chest where it could merge with my own soul. It felt... very warm and hot, almost burning. It has been so long but I still remember it vividly..."

"You mean, it felt like if you drink soup that is still too hot?", Tempest chipped in.

"...You know, Artorias would have really liked you."

Both of them stayed silent for a while before Tempest spoke: "How was he? Artorias, I mean."

It took Ornstein a while before he replied: "He was... always there when you needed him. He would always listen. He was always smiling. As nerve-racking as he could be, his presence made every day a little bit brighter. And so, as he died, my world got a little darker..."

"...I am sorry.", Tempest said once again.

"...Don't sweat it. That was a long time ago..."

Ornstein seemed to act like he didn't care anymore, as if he was above this things, but Tempest, studying his face, seeing the frown and the glistening tears the dragon slayer tried with all his might not to shed, knew that this wasn't the case.

"...Shall we maybe take a walk around Fire Link Shrine? I can introduce you to the others."

"Oh and how do you want to introduce me, the knight from legends who is twice the size of you humans and should instill fear in your hearts?", Ornstein said, voice practically dripping with sarcasm.

Tempest was happy that he managed to distract Ornstein from his loneliness, but he apparently had to be complicated about it.

"I just say that you are my friend who helps me with my quest. I don't have the feeling the Undead at the shrine know a lot about Lordran. They are all from other lands.", he said, standing up. "Are you coming or not?"

"Fine.", Ornstein said, putting his helmet back on and standing up too. "But I leave the talking to you."

"Great!", Tempest smiled, heading into the directions of some stairs, but briefly froze and looked back at the bonfire.

Ornstein followed his gaze and both of them stared at the onion knight standing near the bonfire, clearly so lost in thought that they hadn't noticed the duo.

"Is that Sieglinde?", Ornstein asked. "Doesn't feel like it.", he added.

"No, I think that is Siegmeyer.", Tempest said, squinting his eyes. With the same suit of armour it was hard to find out which of the knights really was in it, but that distinct sense of being absent smelled too much like Siegmeyer.

Tempest casually strolled over: "Hey Siegmeyer. I see you have made it back from Anor Londo."

The onion knights head jerked up and when he saw Tempest his face seemed to lighten, even though it was impossible to see through the armour, his whole being just seemed to light up as he spoke:

"Well! Fancy meeting you here.  
You did much for me up above. I am grateful.  
You know, I was thinking…  
The gates at the old fortress…  
Was that your doing?"

"Um, you could say that, yes...", Tempest replied to the question, biting back a nervous laugh. That he had opened the gates for Siegmeyer had been a pure coincidence after all.

"Yes! I knew it!  
It seemed like an unlikely coincidence.  
Well, am I fortunate! This knight of Catarina thanks you sincerely  
Please take this, as a token of my gratitude."

The onion knight handed Tempest a scroll. Ornstein glanced at it and determined it as a miracle, but one he had never seen before.

"Oh, thank you very much.", Tempest smiled. "Say, I have to tell you something!", Tempest suddenly said but got interrupted when Ornstein laid a hand on his shoulder and just shook his head. "Oh, nevermind.", he finished. "Say, Siegmeyer, what are you planning to do now?"

"Oh me? I'll be heading down below shortly.  
There's nothing worthwhile up above.  
No worries! Adventuring is my life; I'm prepared for the worst."

He finished with a hearty laugh.

"Just... take care.", Tempest said and stepped behind a corner, whispering to Ornstein: "Why shouldn't I tell him about his daughter?"

"It's better when he doesn't know. It probably is also better when this two never meet. When we see her the next time, we should just tell her that she should leave. Lordran is no place for a living human.", Ornstein said.

It took a few seconds before the statement hit Tempest, but once it did, he threw his hands up in the air and almost shouted: "She's not UNDEAD?!"

"Little storm, not so loud.", Ornstein hissed. "And yes indeed, she isn't. I could feel her soul power resonating within her, you Undead have a completely different feel. It is more than impressive that she made it to Anor Londo in this state."

"I have a newfound respect for this girl.", Tempest whispered.

"You wanted to go elsewhere before you saw Siegmeyer, so where to?", Ornstein asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Oh right, I wanted to pay Laurentius a visit.", Tempest called out. He led Ornstein up some stairs, heading for an Undead dressed in the robes of the pyromancers of the great swamp. Ornstein tensed at his sight.

"Hey Laurentius, how is it going?", Tempest asked with a big smile.

"Oh, it's.. it's you. I.. I surely hope my flame was of help?", Laurentius spoke, a sonore voice interspersed with some kind of anxiety. Though Ornstein could relate to this, he preferred to stay a bit to the side.

"It was, thank you very much. Actually, I wanted to ask you if I could get an upgrade?"

"Of... of course. Just hand me the souls I need for this."

Ornstein watched as Tempest went to grab the souls. It was as fascinating as it was disturbing. While most people just absorbed the souls once the kill had been done, Undead only could store them. And so they were able to trade them. Ornstein saw how Tempest turned around to open up the leather vest he was wearing and touching the dark sign to channel the right amount of souls to hand over to the pyromancer.

The process looked at weird as it looked distressing for the little storm. Ornstein asked himself if maybe he shouldn't have stared. He discreetly looked away as the pyromancer took the souls, probably to add to his own stock and got to work.

"So.. who is your friend standing there?", Laurentius asked while working on the flame. Tempest turned around to look at Ornstein.

"I met him in Anor Londo. He helps me out with my quest.", he replied. "You know, you can come a bit closer!", he suddenly shouted.

Ornstein winced and answered: "...sorry, fire just isn't my thing."

"Oh, th.. that's fine, I understand.", Laurentius said and Ornstein could hear some hurt in the pyromancer's voice. It didn't surprise him. Pyromancy was scoffed upon, especially from sorcerers, being a very primal art of casting. That Ornstein didn't want to come closer because fire reminded him of the dragon war and he could get a... rather negative reaction, he didn't dare to say.

It probably was better when none of the other residents of this shrine knew who he truly was.

The both Undead talked about some trivial things with each other before Tempest got his pyromancy flame back and said his goodbyes.

"Where to now?", Ornstein asked.

"I wanted to visit Logan's student, Griggs.", Tempest said. "He surely wants to hear about his master's whereabouts, don't you think?"

Ornstein couldn't argue with this, after all, he asked himself where his own master was for centuries now. Tempest ran upon a small figure dressed in the sorcerer garb of the dragon school of Vinheim.

Vinheim with their practices of dragon worship had never been very welcome in Anor Londo.

"Hey, Griggs, guess who I found in the Archives? It was Logan!", Tempest exclaimed.

"Master Logan is safe? Oh, these are good news.", the young looking sorcerer said. Of course there wasn't any guarantee that he was still young, just like Ornstein was hundreds of years old, the Undead could have been like this for hundreds of years too and just kept their appearance they had when they turned undead.

"He was behind bars though, your master seem to have an affinity for being caught.", Tempest laughed. "But don't worry, we freed him and he studies in the archives now.", Tempest gestured to Ornstein, who simply gave a small nod at his mention.

"Are you in need of any sorceries?", Griggs asked. "I would like to travel behind Master Logan soon, but I don't want to leave you hanging after all you have done for me. And Master Logan."

"Actually, I would like to buy that last one you offered.", Tempest said with a grin.

"Of course, just hand me the souls."

This time Ornstein turned around as the exchange happened and soon Tempest was in the possession of a scroll with a mighty sorcery on it.

"Why did you buy this? I don't think you are able to use this sorcery.", Ornstein said as they walked away from Griggs.

"I made a lot of souls in the archives and just wanted to share.", Tempest replied. "Besides, maybe I learn how to use this! You'll never know!"

"Any more people you need to visit at this shrine?", Ornstein asked.

"Ah, not at this shrine anymore, but I would like to visit Andre, the blacksmith in the parish.", Tempest said. "It would be quicker to warp there, but don't worry, there is a shortcut and you only need to fight three hollows to reach him."

In secret, Ornstein was glad. Magic teleportation really didn't sit well with him. That Tempest took this into consideration made him incredibly sympathetic.

As they headed for the aforementioned shortcut, they passed another Undead, a rather burly man in the typical cleric garb of Thorolund, or maybe the armour just let him look like it. "Oh, this is Petrus.", Tempest whispered to Ornstein and went over to talk with the man.

"Has your lady returned yet, Petrus?", Tempest asked.

"M'lady...? I am afraid not, just where could she have run of too?", the cleric replied. Ornstein frowned under his helmet. A sworn protector who has let his protégé run away? And was not searching under every stone for her?

"Don't fret.. I am sure you will find her.", Tempest reassured the cleric. He didn't seem to acknowledge Ornstein's presence at all, so the two of them went on.

"This guy, he is shady.", Ornstein whispered. "Why wouldn't he search for the lady he should protect? I think he might have abandoned her."

"What?!", Tempest eyes grew wide. "...your words makes sense, but... he looked so distressed."

"He's acting. I have seen enough people like this in my life. Just... don't talk to him anymore. He isn't worth it."

"Well, I guess so...", Tempest said as they stepped in an elevator that took the both of them right into the church of the Undead Parish.

Ornstein hadn't been in this place in ages. The knights of Anor Londo had sometimes helped out the human population of Lordran to fight off threads, but most of the time, they had been on an Undead hunt.

Now Ornstein was sure that not a single living human was left in the land of Lordran anymore.

Like Tempest had said, the way to Andre was easy and only guarded by three very weak hollows that fell to their blades far too quickly. As they made their way to the blacksmith passing a bonfire, the constant clanging of a hammer was heard echoing in the old building.

Ornstein followed Tempest but preferred to stay out of sight of the blacksmith. He only would pique interest with the golden armour and the special weapon he wielded.

Tempest talked to the blacksmith who first noticed the crystal ember that Tempest had found in the Archives, quickly dismissing it, stating that he wouldn't be able to use it. They then talked further and shortly afterwards Ornstein could hear the distinct sound of a twinkling titanite used to reinforce a weapon. Apparently, Tempest had taken a liking to the silver knight straight sword.

After the weapon had been handed back to Tempest, Ornstein noticed that another exchange of souls happened. When Tempest came back to Ornstein he held an item in his hand, presenting it to him, asking: "Ornstein, what is that?"

"The Crest of Artorias.", Ornstein gasped. "Why did the blacksmith had it?"

"Wait, this belonged to your friend?"

"No.", Ornstein quickly shook his head. "It is a key that can open the door that leads to his grave. It was made by Princess Dusk of Oolacile after the grave robbers went too far. There is an alternate path to the grave, but it is long and difficult to take, so the door kept the grave rather safe the last few hundreds year."

Ornstein fell silent after this explanation. While the door had managed to keep most graver robbers out, what it didn't had managed was to keep Ciaran's sadness out of her heart. She had died right next to the grave of her beloved.

"...Do you want to visit the grave?", Tempest asked, concern shining in his blue eyes.

"No, not yet.", Ornstein said. "We have to go there eventually, because that is where the friend is we need to talk to, but.. for now, let's go somewhere else."

"Alright.", Tempest said, pocketing the magic key. "Let's head back to Fire Link Shrine."

"What destination have you picked out for us to head next?", Ornstein asked.

"I was thinking heading to the catacombs... I already have been there, though I was mostly running through it screaming... The gravelord is down there, right?"

Ornstein simply nodded once they rode the elevator back to the shrine. Once they had managed to make it to the bright burning flame, Tempest spotted the familiar onion knight and said: "Oh, Siegmeyer, didn't you want to head out?"

"Idiot.", Ornstein hissed and gave Tempest a slight hit on the head.

"You have seen my father? Where did he head to?", the voice of Sieglinde asked and Tempest knew instantly which kind of mistake he had done.

"Uh, he didn't tell.", he quickly lied.

"Still, thank you. Now I know he must be around somewhere here...", Sieglinde murmured to herself.

"I sure hope you haven't doomed this girl.", Ornstein scoffed as they sneaked away from her, in the direction of where a loud snoring sounded.

Ornstein knew the primordial serpent, knew that he was a friend of Gwyn and that he also worked closely with Gwyndolin.

And Ornstein also perfectly knew that Frampt wasn't telling the whole truth. His gaze rested on the slumbering serpent for a little while before it wandered to the little storm, cheerily hopping in front of him, heading for the cemetery.

 _Just a sacrifice._ , Ornstein thought to himself. He really had gotten too attached.

"So, the first time here I tried to get past this skeletons for an hour or so.", Tempest said, pointing to a piles of bones on the ground. "Eventually I gave up and searched for another way. I don't even know why I was so dead set on trying to get past them."

"Well, sounds like a typical mistake only an Undead could make.", Ornstein said. "After all, every sane person would leave immediately and try to get to safety once they notice they don't have a chance."

"... I surely think I could have a chance now.", Tempest said. "Are you ready to help out, Ornstein?"

"Sure.", the dragon slayer replied with a grin under his helmet.

After a short while every skeleton at the cemetery was an unmoving piles of bones and Tempest had picked up a comically large sword, which got determined as a Zweihander by Ornstein.

"We never used weapons like this in Anor Londo, but we had a squad using big weapons, they eventually became the black knights. We also had one silver knight named Ledo who used a giant hammer... was good friends with Havel, the stone warrior.", Ornstein casually told. Tempest soaked up every word he shared from a world the Undead hadn't been part of.

"So how is Nito like?", Tempest asked as they stood in front of the entrance of the catacombs.

"Hmm... Maybe I'll tell you when you manage to reach the next bonfire without my help.", Ornstein teased, but didn't expect the little storm to take the tease serious as he practically rushed into the catacombs.

"... At least he uses a silver knight sword.", Ornstein murmured to himself as he switched out his own dragon slayer spear for the silver knight spear he had used many years ago.

He waited five more seconds, heard the sounds of explosions and then followed Tempest into the crypt.


	16. Chapter 16

Summary: Ornstein and Tempest delve into the catacombs.

(Author's note: So, wow, this chapter got long and it took me ages and why? Let me explain...

I was unsatisfied just picking out the wiki and then made shit up while I wrote and checked the locations, so I literally started the game, played through the area (in NG+ also) and used my experiences in it for this chapter. So yeah, this turned out a lot more detailed than the archives and it was huge inspiration, so I probably continue doing it.)

Ornstein took his sweet time as he casually strolled down the path into the catacombs, squinting a bit because this place was darker than he remembered. He still could see well enough and soon caught up to Tempest who was locked in a fight with a few skeletons, his sword gliding off the solid smooth bones far too often.

"How do you fight something that doesn't bleed?!", he screeched as his sword once again recoiled and he himself was attacked by the scimitar of the second skeleton, which made him grunt in pain.

"By finding the weak spots in the bones.", Ornstein said, having enough from watching and casually thrusting his spear into one of the skeletons which made it fall apart, bones clattering onto the ground.

"How did you do that?", Tempest asked with glinting eyes.

"I just told you, by finding the weak spots in their bones.", Ornstein repeated. "Until now, you could count on that if it bleeds, that it would die eventually. But now you face an enemy that has been long dead and not like you Undeads.", Ornstein gestured to Tempest. "This is quite literally a skeleton, the remnants of some poor soul having been buried here, brought back to life. You need to find the weak spots in the bones and strike at them."

Tempest had listened to Ornstein's explanation while dodging and parrying the strikes of the skeleton warrior and now wanted to try out his words. He focused on the skeleton in front of him and used his swords to strike against both kneecaps with the blunt side, shattering them in the process, which made the skeleton fall down on the ground but not completely falling apart like the one Ornstein had killed did.

"Good.", Ornstein said with a nod. "You are a quick learner. Now don't get careless. It is still able to reassemble itself like this. Put pressure onto your target and don't give it the time it is needing for this."

Tempest didn't need to hear this advice a second time and lunged forward, aiming at the neck of the skeleton. The hit was hard enough to send the skull flying. "Success!", he cheered, looking at Ornstein but the dragon slayer simply shook his head.

As Tempest turned his head back to the skeleton he saw that it not only had reassembled its legs but also that it picked its head up to put back on its neck, even making sure that it was properly reattached.

"Not fair.", he complained.

"And you think you coming back after having died is fair?", Ornstein scoffed from his position as a observer.

"That's completely different.", Tempest complained as he rolled away from the next strike of the skeleton.

Ornstein casually joined the fight and said: "Just watch." as he thrust his spear into the skeleton and it fell apart like the first one. "I am not going to show this again.", he said, his head turned upwards. "The next skeleton you get down on your own."

"Yes sir, understood sir.", Tempest said and Ornstein wouldn't have wondered if the tiny warrior would have saluted at him. Instead he added a "Thanks."

"Don't mention it.", Ornstein said, taking a closer look at the room they were in now that there weren't any skeletons to distract them anymore.

"You changed your weapon.", Tempest said, pointing at the silver knight spear.

"Of course. And I would have told you to do the same if you wouldn't have rushed forward AGAIN and if you wouldn't conveniently already had used a silver knight word.", Ornstein replied.

"...", Tempest somehow managed to make his silence audible before he rummaged around and pulled out a crumpled-up piece of paper. He straightened it and looked really hard at it before he spoke again: "...when you told me about the lords you said we would need holy weapons. ...I have this written down here, I just... didn't think about it before I went in here."

"And that's why you are a little storm.", Ornstein scoffed once again but had to smile at Tempest at the same time. He hadn't expected for him to actually write down the stuff he had vomited out back then, when he still had been forced into bed at the Dark Moon Tomb, just wishing that the Undead would disappear when he stared hard enough.

"Where to now?", Ornstein asked, noticing they were standing on a ledge and staring at the room below them. It was too dark to see anything.

"There is a ladder there.", Tempest said, pointing to it before descending it. "But down there are more skeletons."

"You know how to deal with them now.", Ornstein replied and descended the ladder too for a change. He didn't want to jump into literal darkness with the prospect of skeletons. Tempest made a small noise of surprise at his actions which Ornstein ignored.

As they made it to the bottom of the ladder, the skeletons rose and the both of them dispatched them quickly. As Ornstein scanned the room and saw a passageway that probably led deeper into the catacombs, he headed for it but was stopped by Tempest.

"Wait, there is a bonfire in there.", Tempest pointed at an alcove. "I want to stop there first."

Ornstein followed Tempest who sat down at the bonfire, rummaging around in his belongings. He produced a humanity sprite, stared at it for a good while before crushing it and adding it right back to the bonfire to make it burn brighter.

"This place isn't smelling very good.", Ornstein said, wrinkling his nose. As the bonfire started to burn brighter, Ornstein saw the reason for it. "Oh, seems like you already have taken care of the necromancer for this area." He kicked the decaying corpse.

"Well, I needed to pull a lever to open up the way and they were in the way.", Tempest said, staring at the corpse. "...I thought they were Undead, like me? Shouldn't they come back to live?"

Ornstein shrugged, unsure about how the Undead actually worked. He had another thing on his mind.

"...Wait, when you told me how you got the ring of the Dark Moon, you said that you were waking up at Fire Link Shrine. Why didn't you sit at the bonfire here?"

Tempest smiled sheepishly: "You know... I was so sure I would die in there and already planned to go elsewhere should I die in there that I wanted to avoid having to go back through the horde of skeletons..."

"But haven't you touched the bonfire?", Ornstein asked, being sure that the bonfire had been lit as they entered the room.

"For some strange reason, just lighting it doesn't count as touching?", Tempest said. "I don't have a clue how this works. Anyway, now I touched it and will be linked to it, so wait for me here should I die, alright?"

"I don't plan on letting you die.", Ornstein said, shuddering. "This place is giving me the creeps. I don't want to stay longer here than necessary."

"Seems like I got used to all this death and decay a lot more now.", Tempest stood up from the bonfire, grabbed his sword and headed for the exit.

"...You also haven't spend the last hundred years in an abandoned town.", Ornstein said as he followed the little storm.

Once they crossed the passageway the duo came out into a far more open area were a waterfall was splashing into a pond. The area also was better illuminated and made Ornstein able to see his surroundings a lot better.

"So, this is where I started to run and scream.", Tempest said just before he was hit with a fireball. He quickly pat out the flames that were threatening to engulf his black leather vest as he said: "And this was why."

Ornstein could spot the necromancer on the other side of the room, a large gap between them. Ornstein may have been able to cross it by jumping, but even he would need a bit of a start-up and the ledge they were one was rather narrow. Instead...

"Let me take care of it.", he said and switched out the silver knight spear for the dragon slayer spear, charging up the lightning attack as Tempest gasped, not because of Ornstein's actions but because of the skeletons that had noticed them.

"Oh no, you won't.", he said and stormed off as Ornstein's attack aimed as the necromancer and once fired, perfectly hit the dumbfounded thing which dropped dead in an instant.

"This one won't bother us anymore.", Ornstein said and turned around only to see Tempest being locked in a struggle with some more skeletons, bleeding from an attack while one of the skeletons was reassembling itself.

Ornstein quietly sighed to himself but also a smile formed under his helmet. The little storm was getting dependable. He joined the battle and soon the two skeletons didn't rose anymore. Tempest was taking a sip from his Estus to heal the wound.

"I envy you about this.", Ornstein said. "For me wounds have to heal the classical way. We aren't having unlimited use of Princess Gwynevere's powers or blessings anymore."

"Oh, believe me, being Undead is nothing to be envious about.", Tempest said as the two continued their trek, fending off more skeletons. "Dying hurts horribly every single time and being able to heal wounds instantly doesn't make the pain of receiving them go away."

"But at least you skip the long healing process.", Ornstein said as he crushed a skeleton's skull with his dragon slayer spear. Now that the necromancer for this area was gone he had felt secure to keep his usual weapon for now. "That is kind of useful."

"That's one way of seeing it.", Tempest sighed. "I still wished this curse has never hit me." He was silent for a while and then murmured something that Ornstein couldn't hear. Upon asking to repeat himself, Tempest just shook his head and said: "Nevermind."

The both of them continued down the path, fending off more skeletons until they entered a room that could be described as more typical for catacombs, with large stone biers edged into the walls, more skeletons onto them, but at least these ones weren't moving.

Unfortunately they were still loads of skeleton left moving and so Ornstein and Tempest soon were locked in battle once again, fending off the horde of skeletons which now also had taken up bows and shot arrows at them from raised positions. With Ornstein's height it was no trouble to take care of them and so the two of them managed to dispatch of the horde quickly and took a look around.

"There is a way outside.", Ornstein said, pointing to a door frame, where a bridge could be spotted, though it was covered in spikes. This would probably hurt to cross. Tempest was distracted though.

"Wait, I think there is something to pick up.", he said and stormed off in the complete opposite direction. Ornstein followed him with another glance to the spiked bridge, hoping not to forget where the doorway was. The catacombs were a tiny bit confusing and his sense of direction wasn't the best in unknown locations. As the archives already had proved.

Tempest picked up whatever item he had chased after and then looked down the ledge only to slip and fall. Ornstein sighed as he went after him, Tempest giving him an awkward smile: "I just wanted to see what was there but apparently this just led back to the room in which we began."

Ornstein offered him his hand. "Just let me pull you up so we can continue." Tempest did as told and Ornstein had the feeling there was a blush in the little Storm's face.

"So now what?", Tempest asked as they stood in front of the spiked bridge.

"There must be a lever somewhere, let's go look for it.", Ornstein pointed at a path leading up the right. He may have been able to cross the bridge by jumping, but he wasn't keen on finding out how much the landing hurt should he misjudge the jump. Especially because he would have needed to pick the little Storm up too and add his weight to his own.

Tempest stormed off and came running back in an instant and Ornstein knew why as he saw the skull like wisps explode with their signature scream. The dragon slayer managed to jump into safety just in time, carrying Tempest along in the process. "Take better care.", Ornstein said, getting up, unaware of the deep blush that had appeared on Tempest's face.

"At least the bombs are gone now.", Tempest stood up, following the path with small, careful steps, stopping as he saw more skeletons coming their way. Sighing, he picked up his swords: "This place is infested with skeletons."

"These are catacombs after all, what did you expect?", Ornstein said, breaking one of the skeletons into all its individual parts with a single attack, then moving forwards, stopping in front of a statue that was lined a the path, waiting for Tempest to finish his own battle. As the little Storm came nearer, he stopped near Ornstein, eyes wide in confusion.

"Shouldn't we move on?", he asked.

"I want to test something.", Ornstein said and the next thing Tempest knew was that he was shoved forward, stumbled and felt a piercing pain as the statue extracted some spikes, which made him yelp in pain and surprise.

"I knew this place was booby trapped.", Ornstein said with a triumphant voice as Tempest struggled to get up.

"And why did you had to shove me into it to find this out?", he complained.

"Because you can easily heal any injury with your Estus flask.", Ornstein said, kneeling down, searching for aforementioned flask at Tempest's waist and giving him a sip. Even though Tempest was sure he had lost quite some blood because of the dragon slayer's stunt, there seemed to be enough left for him to blush. Again.

"We have to avoid the ones with the plates on their chest.", Ornstein said after Tempest got up, looking morosely at the holes and blood stains in his armour. He had to fix this later.

"You go first, because you have your Estus.", Ornstein said.

"Only when you promise that you don't shove me anymore.", Tempest grumbled.

"I can't make promises.", Ornstein said and Tempest just knew he had a grin under this leonine helmet of his. Tempest promised to himself to not run into another trap instead.

The rest of the path was rather easy to travel, Tempest spotted one more statue that was booby trapped and managed to avoid it just fine. Near the end of the path they spotted a lever. Tempest went near it to push it into the wall and they were rewarded with the clear noise of something large turning.

Ornstein already had turned around to walk back into the direction of the bridge but Tempest went a bit farther, curious what could be at the end of the path. As Ornstein noticed that Tempest wasn't following him, he turned around again and called for him: "What are you waiting for? Let's go."

"There is a bonfire in this cave.", Tempest replied. "But I can't reach it..."

"There must be another way.", Ornstein said. "Come now. You have enough Estus left, right?"

"Yes, but it would be more if not for your stunt earlier.", Tempest growled.

"Didn't thought you were this resentful.", Ornstein chuckled.

"You are one to talk.", Tempest simply answered and shut up as Ornstein shot him a glare. Well, a glare that he couldn't see but very much feel.

The both of them walked in silence until they were at the bridge. Ornstein just pointed at the two skeletons waiting for them and Tempest nodded in understanding. A minute later both of the skeletons had been kicked down the bridge. Once the skeletons were gone, another necromancer showed themselves and was instantly impaled by the strikes of a sword and a spear.

The duo continued and entered the next hallway. The first thing Ornstein spotted was that a good part of the wall had been broken off. This looked intentional. Tempest had noticed it to and already headed this way without awaiting Ornstein's input. As they stepped into the room Ornstein squinted at the notches in the ground.

"Be careful, we don't know if the ground here can hold our...", he started and gasped as Tempest stormed forwards and instantly fell into the left hole "...weight...", he finished before he hissed: "Idiot!"

Ornstein stepped closer to the now hole in the ground and peaked downwards, seeing if he could spot Tempest. "Everything alright down there?", he shouted down the hole.

He heard the sound of Tempest drinking some Estus and then he said: "Yes, the fall just did hurt a little bit." And then he gasped and called in a voice full with excitement: "Crystal Lizards!" Ornstein could hear him rushing off and then the sound of a trap being activated and a pained yelp. Ornstein didn't waste a second to jump after Tempest and saw that he indeed had managed to impale himself onto a this time rather obvious trap.

"That was it with the crystal lizards...", Tempest said before he took a sip of his Estus.

"I think you have found more than enough twinkling titanite in the archives.", Ornstein said. "Let's follow the path, see where we landed."

"Alright.", Tempest nodded and followed behind Ornstein, hiding behind the dragon slayer's large frame whenever they crossed a statue, which all were booby trapped. At the end of the path, the only exciting thing was a ladder, which led into a dead end once they ascended it. There were two more notches embedded into the ground.

"Great, dead end...", Tempest said but once he noticed the notches he added: "Maybe they lead somewhere like in the previous room...?"

"Only one way to find out.", Ornstein grinned as she shoved Tempest onto one of the notches and jumped after him once the little Undead had indeed fallen to the ground.

"What was that for?", Tempest complained, sitting on his rear, clearly taken aback by the sudden shove. "What is it with you and shoving me into traps today?"

"I already said, it is because you are easily able to heal any injury should it be a trap.", Ornstein said, readying his spear, but no foes were in sight. "Besides, this wasn't even a trap."

"Huh, seems like we are back at the bridge.", Tempest said. "This only was a waste of time."

"You were the one storming off.", Ornstein said as they crossed the bridge another time, this time descending the long spiral staircase.

"It is getting darker and darker.", Tempest said, squinting his eyes.

"This is nothing.", Ornstein replied. "Wait until we are in Nito's realm."

"Wait, we aren't there yet?", Tempest asked and then raised his sword to fend off a skeleton that came flying at him.

"He is a lot farther down. Didn't you notice that the skeletons in here are all human sized?"

Tempest looked more closely at his opponent and realized, that Ornstein was right. The skeletons were more his size. Maybe a little larger, Tempest was tiny, even for a human. His head barely made it above Ornstein's waist.

"So there are more skeletons your size farther down?", Tempest asked as he broke the knees of the skeleton with a well timed sword strike.

"Yes. Because of the size of the skeletons the human population has started to call it the tomb of giants, but the tomb of the gods would be more accurate.", Ornstein replied.

"Well, for me you are big as a giant.", Tempest said, glancing at Ornstein. "But I have seen actual giants in Sen's Fortress. They were even bigger."

"Yes.", Ornstein nodded. "There is also the giant blacksmith in Anor Londo. The giants in Sen's Fortress and the one in Anor Londo are serving Lord Gwyn."

Tempest frowned a bit. The way Ornstein said it sounded like the giants were doing this of their own free will, but hadn't he seen them doing the same mindless task over and over again while being in chains?

"...Wasn't there also a giant that was a knight of Gwyn?", Tempest asked, hoping to loosen the mood a bit while they were fighting off every skeleton in their way.

"Gough, yes.", Ornstein confirmed. "The best sharpshooter Lord Gwyn's army has ever seen."

"How was he? As a person I mean."

Ornstein stayed silent for a while until he had managed to destroy the skeleton that had fought him at the moment. Tempest noticed that he had switched back to the silver knight spear. Apparently, skeletons weren't very sensitive to lightning powers.

"...He was like the friendly father of the team.", Ornstein finally answered. "Observant. Despite having lost his eyesight later in his life, he always knew if something was up. He even shot out a dragon of the sky despite not having been able to see for years."

"He did what?! Impressive!", Tempest's own eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"He retired shortly after the dragon war was over, so his time in the army was short, but I visited him a lot, until...", Ornstein's voice trailed off and Tempest knew that the talk was over. As over as the path they had walked on. There was only darkness in front of them.

"A dead end.", Tempest said, squinting down, trying to make out anything in the darkness.

"It looks like there is some kind of platform we could safely land on.", Ornstein mused. "The emphasis is on could." Tempest backed away as the leonine helmet turned into his direction.

"I am done with being shoved into pits. Let's search for another way, please."

"You are no fun.", Ornstein said but stepped back from the pit, which made Tempest release a breath in relief. One of the few things he still had to do, even in undead state. Sometimes he asked himself if breathing was just a habit, because he used to do it every day to stay alive and if he could still stay alive – or more precisely undead – when he would just stop doing it.

"There have been alcoves on the sides where the skeletons came out.", Ornstein said. "Let's look for a way there."

There wasn't a way but another lever which Tempest pulled. They heard a loud noise from up above and took the trek back upwards the stairs.

Indeed there had been a passage opened. Tempest entered it, looking around. There were a few steps in front of him that led into nothingness and a path to the left. "Looks like someone forgot to finish the stairs.", he said as he headed left.

"Or the stairs have once been there and are now gone.", Ornstein added. "Don't forget that this land was erected hundreds of years ago."

"I know and you have been there to see all this glory.", Tempest's eyes started to sparkle again. What would he have given to see Lordran as the land it once was, not the ruin that it had become? He was too lost in his own thoughts to hear that Ornstein murmured: "...but I also was there to see its downfall..."

Once they stepped out of the corridor, another spiked bridge was in their way. "Guess we have to find another lever.", Tempest sighed. "Who build all this traps here?"

"They are probably there to scare off grave robbers.", Ornstein said. "And judging that you pick up anything you see, you are not much different." He chuckled at this words.

"It's not like they would miss it.", Tempest said, gaze to the side. "Besides, isn't it better when I pick up this weapons instead of giving the skeletons more choices with what to kill us?"

They arrived at the end of the path, where a ladder lead upwards. Tempest already was proceeding to use it, but Ornstein raised a hand: "Wait." He squinted at the wall near the ladder and then gave it a knock with his spear, which made the wall poof.

"I knew it, this wall looked strange.", he grinned to himself. Tempest immediately slid down the ladder and dashed into the opening, yelping as he once again was impaled by a booby trapped statue in front.

"You don't even need my help to run into traps.", Ornstein said. "You are very good doing it yourself."

"...This is so embarrassing...", Tempest said, drank from his Estus and frowned as he saw how little was left. The little Undead proceeded to ascend the stairs behind the wall in a very quiet and careful way, stopping once every few steps searching for enemies or traps. Once Tempest had reached the end of the staircase, he was fulfilled with euphoria. "It's a bonfire!" He quickly lit it and sat down at it, refilling his Estus Flask.

"You haven't died once, little Storm. You are making progress.", Ornstein said, sitting down too.

"No thanks to you.", Tempest grumbled. "I could have gone without being shoved into traps or pits."

Ornstein chuckled at his words. "I wouldn't have done it when I knew you wouldn't be able to take it."

"Oh, shall I thank you for your consideration now?", Tempest said, but Ornstein could see him grin. "Let's move on.", Tempest stood up once his Estus flask was fully filled.

After they exited the room with the bonfire Tempest ascended the ladder to pull the lever and make the spiked bridge traversable. The both of them crossed it in silence, descended another staircase, fought off more skeletons and took a look around, deciding which path to take next.

"I think I fell down to this path when I first was here.", Tempest said, looking at a some loose bricks in the wall.

"You were lucky you weren't dying from the falls.", Ornstein said.

"...I drank a lot of Estus.", Tempest replied. "I wonder if there is more there? I found the ring in there." Before Ornstein could say another word, Tempest had already taken the path behind the bricks and cursed loudly. Once Ornstein had followed him, he saw the arrow sticking out of Tempest's arm and the little Storm fighting with the skeleton that had shot the bow.

"Oh no, not again.", Tempest groaned as another arrow stuck out from his other arm, fired from a skeleton archer from the opposite side.

"...I take care of it.", Ornstein said and hopped down only to be greeted by two more skeletons who dried to gang up on him. While it didn't take the dragon slayer long to get rid of them, he also could count himself to the victims of the skeleton archer as an arrow had made it through the joints of his armour and stuck into his hip.

"This is nothing...", he murmured to himself as he pulled the arrow out, feeling blood seeping out. He had gotten hurt a lot more than this. In the meantime, Tempest had finished his battle and came down to Ornstein's position, taking a sip of his Estus, glaring at the skeleton archer.

"This has become personal!", he growled and and rushed to the ladder, yelping once more as another arrow hit him. Once he had reached the skeleton archer, Tempest kicked it down from the ledge and came falling after it, "impaling" it with his sword.

"Finally some peace and quiet.", he said, turning around to see some stairs leading into a rather dark hallway. He proceeded into it and came running out of it right away, followed by a skeleton of Ornstein's size.

"I remember know! That thing was what killed me after I managed to pick up the ring!", he said, practically hiding behind Ornstein. A sigh escaped the dragon slayer's lips.

"It's just a skeleton.", he said. "A big one, yes, like the ones I told you earlier. In the Tombs of the Gods there will be a lot more of them. You can beat them just like the others. Find their weak point." And with that, he thrust his spear into the pelvis area of the skeleton, which made it collapse into every single bone which cluttered on the ground. After this, Ornstein proceeded into the hallway and stopped at a coffin at the end.

"Ah, that is where I picked up the ring. I think.", Tempest said. "I wonder how it did get there?"

"Whoever has been buried there must have been a dark moon blade.", Ornstein replied. "Every dark moon blade gets this ring. That is why the illusion mistook you for one and granted you access to the tomb."

"Makes sense.", Tempest said, not mentioning that he was rather glad that he had made the decision to search out Gwyndolin. After all, he never would have learned then that Ornstein was alive and he never would have send on this journey with him. Not to talk about that he was pretty sure he would be going hollow soon otherwise.

"There isn't anything else here, let's go back.", Ornstein said, but Tempest stopped him. "There were another few loose bricks, let's look into there first."

"Well, alright...", Ornstein said, following the small Undead. The path behind the wall was rather uneventful, it just was a straight line following upwards, only one spike trap was in their way, until they landed in a room with a single skeleton and a single necromancer. Tempest took down the skeleton and Ornstein the necromancer. After they were gone, Tempest kneeled down to pick up the skull lantern of the necromancer.

"This looks like it could come in handy.", he said. "When it really is as dark as you said down there."

"It could be useful to carry a source of light around, yes.", Ornstein said. After all, he wouldn't be able to constantly conjure lightning to brighten up the place. And lightning wasn't generally very useful to provide light.

"There is a ladder here, let's go up.", Ornstein suggested and ascended it, the little Storm following closely behind him. On top, there was a single corpse with a scroll on it. Tempest picked it up and went to show it Ornstein. "I can't say I've ever seen this before.", Ornstein said upon taking a glance. It seemed to be a prayer that slowed everything down around the caster. It certainly wasn't one of Princess Gwynevere's miracles.

"Maybe I show it to a cleric later.", Tempest mused as he stuffed the scroll into his belongings, looking at the notches. "They probably won't hold again when I step on them.", he said, not taking a single step.

"What are you waiting for then?", Ornstein said and gave Tempest a tiny nudge, enough that he stumbled forward and fell through the ground. At least this time it didn't hurt, but he got attacked by skeletons immediately. Ornstein had hopped lazily after him and helped dispatching the skeleton. Afterwards, Tempest recognized the room.

"We are right back at the beginning!", he said, hands thrown up. "...I guess we have to make our way back..."

"You wanted to know what is behind the brick wall, little Storm.", Ornstein said as he followed Tempest back to the place where the brick wall had been.

As they stepped out of the door next to the broken brick wall, Tempest peaked around the corner and groaned when he saw several wisps and three skeletons which came for their position, which turned into a chuckle when one of them managed to just fall off the ground instead.

"Hah, idiots!", he said and rushed forward to fight the two remaining skeletons, only to come run back when the wisps noticed his presence and started to explode.

"Who is the idiot now?", Ornstein grinned.

"At least it took down the other skeletons.", Tempest half snapped as he peaked around the corner.

"Then we can move on.", Ornstein said. They soon stood in front of a door that led into a rather dark room.

"Be careful in there, little Storm, we don't know what could be in there.", Ornstein said.

"More skeletons?", Tempest sarcastically said, squinting his eyes at the darkness. It was so dark, he barely could see a thing. He slowly crept along the wall, hearing Ornstein's breathing near him, indicating that the dragon slayer was near him. "Hm... there seems to be something shiny back there.", Tempest pointed to the far end of the wall, where Ornstein indeed could make out some kind of shimmering.

Before he could say anything, Tempest had once again rushed forward. The next thing Ornstein heard was the slam of a big weapon hitting the ground and squishing a tiny Undead and the distinct sound of said Undead being transported back to the bonfire.

"I told this idiot to be careful.", Ornstein said, one hand on the snout on his leonine helmet. He did a few steps into the direction of the sounds and quickly found out, that the creature killing the little Storm turned out to be a titanite demon. He really wasn't keen on fighting one of these, even the one who lived in Anor Londo had been left in peace from both him and Smough. Instead, Ornstein turned around and went back to the bonfire. It would give him a good opportunity to tend to this arrow wound he had received earlier.

Tempest reappeared just as Ornstein had finished applying a bandage to his leg and pulled it tight. Tempest stood up from the bonfire, looked at Ornstein, was quiet for a little while and then just said: "Sorry."

"I told you to be careful, little idiot.", Ornstein said, getting both his pants and his pantaloons back one. He wasn't even aware that Tempest was staring at him, but that probably had to do with the fact the Undead hadn't recovered his humanity yet.

"What are you waiting for? Recover your humanity and let's go.", Ornstein said.

"...I will stay like this.", Tempest said. He didn't had that much humanity to spare anymore, but he didn't want Ornstein to know about it.

"Well, alright.", Ornstein said. "Let's go then."

Tempest sighed. "All the way back down there now..."

"Maybe there is another way... a short cut so to speak.", Ornstein said and instead of them crossing the bridge he led them back into the hallway which ended on the stairway into nothing.

"What, there is nothing here...", Tempest said, but Ornstein pointed down. "Oooh.", Tempest understood and quickly rolled off the ledge. Ornstein followed him with a well timing jump, wincing a little when the landing jostled his injured leg.

Tempest picked up a weapon that laid down on the ledge. "Hm, it's a scythe. Don't you normally mow grass with this?"

"It can also be used as weapon. I once knew a girl who used a scythe as weapon.", Ornstein replied.

"I don't have the feeling it would be for me.", Tempest said, but still pocketed the scythe, as he pocketed anything he ever found. "And now?", Tempest said, but the only way they could go was falling down another ledge and then left, where the familiar notches in the ground were.

"Oh, falling again.", Tempest said, stepping on the nudge, but this time the fall only slightly hurt. They were right back at the door. "How convenient.", Tempest said, as Ornstein landed right next to him. "So let's take care of this demon now!"

"Do we have to...?", Ornstein complained, but still followed Tempest.

"Don't tell me you are afraid of them, you slew dragons!", Tempest said, eye holes wide, looking at Ornstein. Ornstein didn't even knew that Undead in their hollowed out form were still able to emote like that.

"No, that's not it, just...", Ornstein searched for words. "Their skin is really hard and they are a drag to fight."

"I promise I won't die this time.", Tempest grinned at Ornstein.

"Good, because you are already thin enough.", Ornstein said, staring at the twig like limbs mostly hidden by Tempest's leather armour.

"Let's go.", Tempest said and slowly made his way into the door, this time being a lot more careful. They approached the demon and Tempest managed to dodge out of the way of the first strike but overlooked the second one and got a nasty hit. He still bled. But that was to be expected, after all, all the hollows they fought would bleed too.

Ornstein used the opportunity to distract the demon with a thrust of his spear, which prompted the thing to turn around and raise its large weapon. In the meantime, Tempest struggled to get up and take a sip of Estus, that hit had done quite some damage. Ornstein could see how he raised his swords and slashed at the demon, which felt more like a scratch. Damn, he hated how hard the skin of these things was.

It took him and Tempest quite a few hits, but slowly they chipped away on the demon while avoiding its attacks until Ornstein was able to hit a vital point with his spear, which made the demon collapse. "Hmph, glad that this is over.", Ornstein sad as he kneeled down to cut out some demon titanite. He wouldn't miss this opportunity, demon titanite was rare enough.

In the meantime, Tempest had wandered to the glimmering item and picked it up. It looked like petrified eyes. "Huh, I think the basiliks had this stuff too...", he murmured to himself and looked around to see that Ornstein was working on the demon and seemed to be rather engrossed in it.

Tempest wandered around, wondering if he should help Ornstein when he saw that one of the coffins was a tad open. Oh, that was perfect. He would hide in there and then give Ornstein a scare when he was done with his work. It was even better because he was in his hollowed out form now and looked like a corpse. Tempest laid down hardly able to contain his snickering.

After around thirty seconds of being in the coffin, closely listening to the sounds of Ornstein, Tempest suddenly felt that the coffin was pulled and he gasped. Oh no, what had he done? Which horrors would await him once the coffin stopped moving?

After he didn't feel any shaking anymore, Tempest slowly rose out of the coffin. To his surprise, he had been brought in a spacious room with nothing inside. Nothing but a large coffin. Tempest slowly got closer to it, wondering if Ornstein already missed him. Tempest stopped in front of the coffin, looking up, swallowing hard as he saw the mass of skeletons tangling inside it, a large sword jabbed in between their form.

For some strange reason, he had the feeling he should show his respect so he kneeled down, closing his eye holes. When he opened them again, he had a sword and a miracle scroll in his position and he heard a voice whisper "Offer me Eye of Death".

Tempest shrugged, unsure about what just happened and went back to the coffin. Soon enough he felt the pull on it and was transported back to his original location.

Ornstein had finally managed to get the demon titanite off and turned around to look for Tempest, who had been awfully quiet all this time. He found him standing in a coffin, gravelord sword in one hand and Ornstein could only assume that the scroll was the gravelord sword dance miracle.

"You entered the gravelord covenant?!", Ornstein shouted.

"Oh, that is what this was about?", Tempest said. "I just wanted to surprise you, that was all."

"How did you manage to accidentally enter the gravelord covenant by just trying to prank me?!", Ornstein yelled. He could hardly believe the little Storm.

"Wait, Gravelord?", Tempest said, finally coming out from the coffin. "Isn't that the guy we are send to kill...?"

"Yes, exactly.", Ornstein said, both hands on his helmet. "Let's... let's just go. And don't think about trying to do the grave lord stuff."

"I don't even know how."

"Good."

Because after the demon had been a dead end, the both of them walked further into the room, until Tempest spotted a hole in the brick wall and nudged at Ornstein to get him into the right direction. In the room, there wasn't anything to see at first. Tempest walked around the small ledge, picked up a soul and then went back to Ornstein, who waited at the ladder. Tempest swiftly slid down the ladder only to be stopped by something hard. As he looked underneath him with confusion, he saw a rather mad skeleton using its scimitar to slice at his feet.

"Oh, you jerk!", Tempest said and kicked the skeleton, quickly climbing back up, fighting the skeleton. Ornstein saw a second one coming and took it down quickly.

"Now we can go down, right?", Tempest said and used the ladder. Ornstein normally would have jumped, but with his still hurting leg he preferred the ladder too. As soon as they both were on the ground, Tempest did one step and crashed through the ground.

"Black Knight!", the little Undead yelled and Ornstein didn't waste any time and jumped behind him. The black knights, once one of the greatest forces in Lord Gwyn's army, had been reduced to mindless suits of armour in the long years of Lordran's downfall. This one wielded an axe and Ornstein knew that one hit with it would rather hurt. He needed to be careful.

He was in luck though, Tempest had gone rather good at parrying silver knights during their training time in Anor Londo and he was quick to react to get his shield ready and parry the blow of the black knight, which gave Ornstein enough time to end its poor existence with a thrust through its chest.

"I am... I am really glad I learned this...", Tempest said, staring at his shield. "Hey, we should search out the others and fight them too."

"...You haven't fought them...?"

"Would you have in my place?"

"...I guess not."

The only way out of the room was through another hole in the wall. This time Ornstein stopped Tempest before he could drop down. "Wait.", he said. After a few seconds the sound of something spiky rapidly hitting the ground was heard and Tempest mouth fell in shock.

"Skeletons on wheels?! Who thought this was a good idea?!", he yelled.

"Not me.", Ornstein said. "Now wait until they stop moving and then..." He plunged down on them, taking down a whole four of them with one single attack.

"Awesome!", Tempest came rolling down, taking his sword in both hands and looking around, taking a step forward, frantically running away as a wisp next to him exploded and then running back to Ornstein screaming as another wheel skeleton was on his toes.

"Idiot! Don't bring them to me!", Ornstein hissed, swinging his spear just in time to block the ongoing rampage but having to dodge to the side to avoid being shredded.

"Sorry, I didn't knew there were more!", Tempest screamed.

"Don't just run around there headless, help me get rid of them!", Ornstein shouted as two other wheel skeletons spotted their position.

Three minutes later they were both heavily panting and sitting on a mountain of bones and wheels.

"...That was scary...", Tempest said.

"Yes, but we survived.", Ornstein said, getting up. "Let's take a look around." He thoroughly hoped that no skeletons were left anymore.

After sifting through the rather flooded bottom of the cave, they found another hole in a bricked wall. Tempest just nodded to Ornstein and went in, running back out of it screaming and on flames. As he took a sip from his Estus, Ornstein peaked into the hole only to be greeted by two skeleton archers. He barely managed to avoid their arrows.

"So two archers and a necromancer...", he murmured. "Little Storm, I take the necromancer, you take the archers! Use your shield to block the arrows!"

Tempest nodded and they went into the hallway, Ornstein instantly taking care of the necromancer before they even could raise their lantern and Tempest managed to take the skeletons down without getting hit by a single arrow.

"And now?", Tempest said, wandering the hallways, standing in front of a ladder. "Oh, there is a way up. Shall we take a look?"

Ornstein nodded and ascended the ladder shortly after Tempest.

"Aw, we are back where I fell down to the black knight...", Tempest said. "I guess, now the only way further has to be down there, where the wheel skeletons were."

"Seems like it.", Ornstein mentioned as he followed Tempest who dropped back to the bottom of the cave.

Back in the cave, Tempest spotted another brick wall that looked like it would lead to somewhere, but this time it was pretty solid. He pressed his ear onto it and swore he could hear the sounds of hammering. "Hey, Ornstein, can you come here for a second?", he called.

As the lion knight came over, he asked: "What is it?"

"...Can you break this wall?", Tempest asked. "I think there is someone behind there."

"Certainly.", Ornstein said, though he wondered who should be down here, especially behind a solid wall. He charged up his spear and thrust it into the wall, which made it collapse, the bricks falling on the ground with a few thuds.

Once they entered the room, a rather large skeleton turned around and growled: "Be gone with you... You are spoiling my focus." before resuming work on a smithy.

"Oh, an undead blacksmith...", Ornstein murmured. There didn't seem to be anything else in the room but Tempest's features seemed to glow and he ran into the direction of the skeleton blacksmith, trying to spark up a conversation.

Sighing, Ornstein sat down, waiting for the Little Storm. In his opinion, the blacksmith had made clear that he didn't want to be bothered. And Tempest returned soon after. "You could have saved this time, really.", Ornstein said.

"Hmmm.. but at least he repaired my sword.", Tempest said, showing it to Ornstein.

"...By the way, was he mad about the wall?", Ornstein asked.

"Nah.", Tempest shook his head. "He wanted to rip a hole in it anyway. He just didn't want us to make any noises."

"...We better leave then.", Ornstein stood up and they stepped back into the damp cavern where the mountain of bones and wheels still could be seen.

There was only one path they hadn't taken and once they passed a rather high ledge, well, for Tempest it was high, the small Undead stopped. "I think there is something up there...", he said.

Ornstein sighed. "No, we are not going through this whole mess again only to find out where we can safely drop. I am just going to lift you." And with that, Ornstein picked Tempest up without any trouble, which made him squeak in surprise, but he climbed up the ledge once Ornstein had lifted him high enough. Tempest took a look and his face fell.

"Oh.", he just said and hopped down the ledge.

"What was it?", Ornstein asked.

"A cleric.", Tempest only answered. Ornstein didn't ask any more questions. There had been countless Undead trying to conquer Lordran, this one probably had long gone hollow and wasn't moving anymore.

"Let's see what is behind that path.", Tempest said, pointing to it. Soon, the duo stood in front of a fog wall.

"Ready?", Ornstein asked.

"Ready.", Tempest nodded, clutching his sword.

They both entered the fog gate. Ornstein never liked the cold perception having to cross them and shuddered a bit. After they had crossed it, both of them readied their weapons, only to let them sink when they weren't under attack right away.

Tempest noticed a small gap ahead of them and headed for it, Ornstein closely followed. Tempest pointed down the gab and then promptly dropped off. Ornstein had a few more difficulties following him through it, but managed, wincing when his leg got jostled by the impact. He hoped they were done with falling through holes now.

The sight that unfolded before them was a weird one. A creature with six arms had their back to them, working on a skeleton, the whole room was littered with books and bones. As the creature noticed them, it turned around and it could be seen that it wore three masks, which seemed to converse with each other. Shortly after they seemed to have found an agreement, the creature started an attack.

"Here it comes!", Ornstein shouted, readying his spear.

Literally one minute later Tempest and Ornstein stared down at the corpse of the strange creature. "Well, um..., that was easy for a change.", Tempest muttered, rummaging around in the strange robes. "What even was this...?"

"I have no clue.", Ornstein said.

Tempest picked up a scroll and read it, realization on his face: "Oh, that is what the clerics have searched. The Rite of Kindling."

"Hm, that thing where you can make a bonfire shine brighter?", Ornstein asked, getting a nod of Tempest who pocketed the scroll.

"I should try it the next time we come to one.", he said. Just as he wanted to leave the corpse alone, one of the masks loosened and fell to the ground. Tempest picked it up, staring at it and at the remaining masks.

"They kinda remind me of a family.", he said. "A father, a mother and a child."

"So you just picked up the mask of the father.", Ornstein said. "..Come on, little Storm, we wasted enough time in this place. Let's move on."

"...Shouldn't we give our foe a name?", Tempest asked.

"Who cares? They are dead.", Ornstein huffed.

"Hm, how about Pinwheel? Because you know, they used fire on a wheel."

"I can hardly believe you, little Storm.", Ornstein said but he was smiling.


	17. Chapter 17

Summary: Tempest and Ornstein venture into the darkness of the Tomb of the Giants. New and old friends are to met.

(Author's note: Holy, that was supposed to be one chapter, but it got longer and longer, so I had to cute it in two.

I want to thank everyone who likes this story and keeps me going with this massive thing. I have still a lot of ideas for it before the end will come, so stay tuned!)

There was only one obvious way out of Pinwheel's room and it was a ladder that led to another ladder. Once they both had ascended it, Tempest stopped in front of the very apparent darkness and just said: "Woah."

"I told you it is dark.", Ornstein dryly commented. "Now would be a good time to use that lantern you picked up from one of the necromancers earlier."

"Right...", Tempest rummaged around and soon produced a lantern from his bag. He felt a bit sour about it though, because it meant he could neither use a shield nor two-hand his sword. At least not without sacrificing them so see. He tried and attached the lantern on his belt. It produced some light, but for the maximum effect he would have to hold it. That was bothersome. Judging from what Ornstein had said earlier, the skeletons in Nito's realm were as big as him.

What a good thing that Ornstein was with him then.

"I can see prism stones. Maybe someone was here before us?", Tempest mused as he walked forwards, left hand stretched out, holding the lantern up.

"It wouldn't surprise me.", Ornstein said. "After all, there are other Undead around here. Maybe one of them explored the Catacombs and went on."

"Oh, Rhea and her friends!", Tempest exclaimed, observing the area around the prism stone. It looked like a pillar but knocked down. The good thing was, it was a bridge to the next safe spot, the bad thing was... it looked very slippery.

"We are better careful...", Tempest said as he stepped on the pillar but to his surprise the pillar wasn't slippery at all and he practically ran over it, Ornstein following him closely.

"Hey, I can see eyes in the dark!", Tempest squinted.

"Be careful, little Storm.", Ornstein said, stepping closer to Tempest.

"Right...", Tempest crept towards the glowing eyes and his fears became true when a skeleton the size of Ornstein attacked. "And this place must be full of them...", he whispered as he dodged a hit with a rather large sabre, dousing the area in darkness as the lantern lost its light during this process.

"It's just a skeleton.", Ornstein said. "The size doesn't matter. We fought one of these already in the catacombs. Remember what I told you." And with this, Ornstein aimed at the chest area of the skeleton. The hit managed to make the skeleton fall apart and the bones clattered around. "See?", Ornstein said.

"It looks a lot easier when you do this with such a big foe.", Tempest grumbled.

"You try the next one.", Ornstein simply stated and followed the path down. He waited at another overturned pillar for Tempest, who lighted the path to the right but turned to it once he had ensured that no other giant skeleton was waiting for them.

"The prism stone is here so I guess this is the right way.", he said and stepped on the pillar only to yelp when he started to slide down at a rapid speed. Landing on his rear, Ornstein came sliding after him in a much more elegant way. The prism stones led to another pillar like this, but Tempest had a bad feeling and lighted the path to his right instead, unveiling another skeleton.

"It's all yours.", Ornstein said and leaned against the pillar, watching.

Tempest grumbled but took up the fight. Which... wasn't really easy when he could barely see anything and constantly removed the lantern from his belt to light up the area only to orientate himself. Needless to say, the small Undead suffered quite a hit from the skeleton but managed to get a good strike at both its ankles making it topple over and giving him the opportunity to smash the skull in.

He took a sip from his Estus as he heard Ornstein applaud, though it sounded a bit unimpressed. "Not bad, little Storm. If you keep up like this maybe we won't need weeks for the remaining lord souls."

Tempest didn't miss the sarcasm in Ornstein's voice. But he had to admit, they had been out for hours now and they hadn't even taken a break other than at Fire Link Shrine. Ornstein wasn't undead. He might have been a seasoned warrior, but he surely would appreciate a proper break. Tempest also felt the need to take a bath. During his time in Anor Londo he really had began to cherish being clean again. Though he should probably unhollow before he tried to scrub the leathery skin that was draped above his skeleton at the moment.

"Thanks, I am doing my best.", Tempest replied with a genuine and honest smile and then went to the next pillar, stopping just before it. It looked as slick as the other. Tempest climbed on it and stared down in the darkness. He didn't want to have another awkward landing. Just as Tempest thought about how to tackle sliding down the pillar, he felt a strong hand giving him a push. Yelping he slid down the pillar while trying to regain his balance and toppled over once he was down, managing to catch himself with his outstretched hands.

He propped himself up and yelled: "You are having fun with his, Orn... argh!" Tempest got interrupted by an arrow that just managed to fly over his head and two giant skeletons crushed their blades down on him. Very hard. Bleeding and fumbling for his Estus Tempest noticed how Ornstein arrived, sliding down the pillar in a rather graceful way and busied one of the skeletons long enough for Tempest to take the live saving sip.

Together they took care of the foes when Ornstein turned around and blocked an incoming arrow with his spear. "Where do they come from?", the dragon slayer growled. "I am not looking forward getting hit by another one of these..."

"And I am not looking forward getting shoved by you again.", Tempest growled in response but he felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. Ornstein had managed to get an arrow wound in the catacombs, Tempest had seen it when he respawned at the bonfire and Ornstein had tended to it. Unlike him Ornstein couldn't heal wounds with Estus. Tempest made a mental note to cook Ornstein's favourite meal once they had obtained the second lord soul.

"...It doesn't appear we can reach the sharp shooter from here.", Tempest said and walked along the path only to another pillar. This place was littered in them. "Wonder where we land when we slide down there?", he said and stepped on the pillar.

"Only one way to found out.", Ornstein said as he stepped on the pillar next to him.

"You won't shove me again?", Tempest asked.

"I just did that because you needed forever.", Ornstein chuckled. "Come, I show you how to slide them down safely." Ornstein offered Tempest a hand which the small Undead took, blood rushing into his face. Could his hollowed out form even blush? He didn't had a clue. He only knew that his heart was pounding in his chest. With the help of Ornstein he managed to land safely and breathed a sigh of relief when he wasn't faced with another skeleton but instead with the sight of a bald man, who was sporting a spear and a tower shield.

"Huh, so there has been someone there...", Tempest whispered.

"Someone you know?", Ornstein whispered back. Tempest only shook his head. He never had seen this man before. He wondered if the bald head of this man had doubled as useful light source, because he wasn't wearing a notable light source around. Or maybe he could just see in the dark.

"I am going to talk to him.", Tempest said. Ornstein just nodded and stayed back. He didn't want to have a say in Tempest's relationship with the other Undead. Besides, they could recognize him. He wasn't keen on explaining this whole situation.

When Tempest was talking with the other Undead, Ornstein noticed just how small Tempest was. For Ornstein all humans were small, but Tempest was a particular short example, a good head smaller than the bald Undead. Ornstein barely follow the conversation, just casually watched. He could hear the word treasure. Ornstein started to get an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He hoped that Tempest would feel it too but apparently the little Storm wasn't feeling mistrustful at all and even went to the cliff next to the bald Undead to take a look at whatever was down there.

Ornstein clutched his spear but then forced himself to relax. He should try and trust the little Storm a bit more. After all, most of the Undead at Fire Link Shrine had felt like genuine fine people. This however changed once Ornstein saw the following scene played out in front of him.

The moment Tempest had been in place and glanced at whatever the other Undead had told him to look at, he kicked Tempest into the back, making the small Undead stumble and fall with a small yell. The bald Undead laughed a dirty laught and then shouted: "This is what I do, my friend! The trinkets I am stripping of your corpse, that's the real treasure!"

He was in the middle of a second cackling laugh when Ornstein loomed behind him. The Undead turned around and his face went pale. Before he could even open his mouth to say anything, Ornstein laid a hand on his shoulder.

"The only one who is allowed to kick the little storm down a cliff...", Ornstein said with a very casual and quiet voice and then raised his foot. "...is ME!", he yelled and kicked the bald Undead down the same cliff Tempest had fallen down and promptly jumped it down himself.

As soon as Tempest heard a loud thud he turned around. The thud was soon joined by clank and once Tempest lighted the lantern to see what had fallen into the pit after him, he saw Patches getting up, dusting himself off and Ornstein next to him, glaring. Tempest shouldn't have been able to know that Ornstein was glaring with the dragon slayer's face behind a mask but he simply knew. It was the way Ornstein stood, clutched his spear and just his overall posture. Tempest was much more interested in Patches however.

"You.", he snarled.

At Tempest's sight, Patches face dropped and he stammered: "...Oh, you, I..." He regained his composure and added: "Let's just calm down and talk about things."

"Calm down? You tricked me!", Tempest shouted. "I mean, I am used to this treatment from Ornstein, but...", he added in a whisper. Patches took a few steps back but had to stop once Ornstein's large frame blocked his path, arms crossed.

"I did you wrong, but I didn't mean it." The words came out of Patches very quickly. "These temptations, they can, well, overcome me..."

"Temptations.", Ornstein spoke. His voice was low, quiet and dangerous. Tempest felt like he never had seen Ornstein this mad before and he had spent time with him back then when they still didn't liked each other.

Patches turned around, looking up at Ornstein and said in a rather weak voice: "Won't you please forgive me?"

"That is the little Storm's choice.", Ornstein said. "But don't pretend that I didn't hear you loudly claiming what the _ireal/i_ treasure was." Ornstein's right hand touched his spear and Tempest heard Patches swallowing.

"Wait, it's fine, I forgive you!", Tempest said. It wasn't like something bad had happened to him. He felt more mad at himself for falling for such a trick. Especially after Ornstein had shoved him into pits without warning the last few hours.

"Oh, brilliant, a second chance, wonderful!", Patches breathed out. "I had a feeling you'd understand. I did. But if I were in your shoes…Ooh! Who knows what I'd have done? But now we're friends again, eh? Heh heh heh…" Patches finished with a creepy laugh and Tempest frowned.

„When we see the next time you better not try to shove me into a pit again.", he said.

„Because that is my job.", Ornstein said from behind.

„Oh surely, I assure you, there shall be no ill feelings between us anymore. I should let you and your partner go. I will just stay here..."

Patches walked towards the wall and startled when a big golden gauntlet appeared on his shoulder and pulled him back. "Don't you think you owe the little Storm an indemnification?", he said in the same low, dangerous voice from before. Patches looked like he wanted to fold himself in, but rummaged around in his pockets and produced a twin humanity.

"Of course, take this. It should prove something, right?", he commented as he handed it over to Tempest.

"I think you can let him go now, Ornstein.", Tempest said after accepting the "gift".

Ornstein removed his gauntlet from Patches and saw how the bald Undead hurried along the wall, probably trying to get out of their sight before they could force him to give more of his treasures up.

"Hmph, that sort is the worst.", Ornstein said. "Little Storm, I thought you had a better common sense. Especially after what I told you about this cleric at Fire Link. Talking about treasure and willing to share it with a total stranger? You should have smelled that trap a mile ago."

"He asked me if I was a cleric and when I said no he said we were friends. I felt like I could trust him...", Tempest said.

"At least nothing bad happened.", Ornstein started walking and motioned for Tempest to follow him. "And it was fun kicking something else down a cliff besides you."

"Ornstein, please.", Tempest chuckled. "...Are you done with pushing me down cliffs by the way?"

"Maybe.", Ornstein said.

The both of them followed the path with Tempest a few steps in front of Ornstein to lighten it, searching for a way back. Even for Ornstein the jump back was a bit high. It didn't help that his leg still hurt either. A few steps later Tempest gasped and dashed forwards, calling "Rhea!".

Ornstein stayed back at always, listening in this time. The girl in front of him was dressed in cleric garbs. She probably was on an undead mission of the Way of White. As Tempest greeted her, she startled and then spoke in a timid voice: "You're no Hollow, are you? Thank goodness. Please be careful. There are two fierce Hollows not far from here." She pointed into the darkness. "They were once brave knights… my former escorts."she continued before almost breaking out in a sob: "Who would let such strong spirits be Hollowed so? Heavens… Is there nothing… Nothing at all to be done?"

Tempest came back to Ornstein and one glance in his face was enough for Ornstein to understand. "Alright, fine, we'll help her out.", he sighed. Killing Hollows wouldn't do anything good. They would just stand up again and pray on every living or non hollowed Undead again. That is why they had the Asylum. But they would have at least a few hours of peace and maybe the hollows would wander into another area of the tomb or even burn themselves in the bonfire. Though the hollowing sounded too recently for them to be doing this.

It was just like the girl was saying. Two hollows wearing the cleric garb of Thorolund were approaching them. They probably had gotten tricked by Patches and while they had tried to find a way out they had lost their minds.

"Just because they are clerics...", Tempest murmured. Ornstein stared at him with a bit of surprise but soon took up the fight against the two hollows. Their shields could be bothersome for a spear user like himself, but Ornstein could use his weapon with enough force to slice a boulder, his foe was soon staggered and taken down with another stab directly through he chest.

Tempest had taken care of the other one. Ornstein turned around to see if the little Storm needed help. He was fighting well, all the training with Ornstein seemed to have yielded fruit. Though as Tempest retreated to catch his breath, the Hollow kneeled down to cast a healing miracle. Ornstein used this opportunity to finish it off.

"Thanks.", Tempest said. "I would have started from scratch if he would have managed to finish this. Let's tell Rhea."

Tempest walked back to the girl and talked to her. Once again, Ornstein leaned against a wall and listened in.

"You banished those two Hollows, did you? It pains me to think of the trouble my failings have caused. I am certain that both Vince and Nico are grateful to you. Thank you so very much. Here, these belonged to them. You deserve them more than I.", she spoke and handed Tempest a scroll. "And give my thanks to your companion too...", she finished.

"Aren't you going to try and get out of here?", Tempest asked after he thanked Rhea for the gift, but she was just shaking her head. Ornstein came nearer and laid a hand on Tempest's shoulder, whispering "Come."

Tempest looked from Rhea to Ornstein and to Rhea but then followed the dragon slayer. "Shall we just leave her here?", he asked.

"I think she needs some time to be alone.", Ornstein said. After all, she had just lost her companions. They weren't dead in the regular sense, but they would never be the same again and soon join the rank of mindless hollows that didn't even had a distinct face anymore.

"Oh...", Tempest just said, realization dawning. "I am sorry."

"Apologize to her, not me.", Ornstein said. "Once you see her again."

They followed the wall until they entered a small tunnel. Tempest, with the light source, went first, walked a good while and then stopped. He put the lantern down, rubbed his eyes and then lightened the path up again to unveil a skeleton tower.

"...Nito had all these years and this is all he came up with?", Ornstein said and destroyed the skeleton tower with one swoop. "Your turn, little Storm."

"I thought you would be more fazed by this sight!", Tempest said and took up the fight, promptly getting buried under one of the towers slamming in the ground. "Ouch...", he whimpered, rolled back and took a sip of his Estus.

"I have to do everything myself, have I?", Ornstein said and took care of the other two towers.

"I haven't been of much use.", Tempest said once he had managed to get up.

"I just wonder how you plan to fight Nito when you lose your words at a mere tower of skeletons.", Ornstein dryly said.

"Wait, what? How does Nito look like?", Tempest asked.

"You will see soon enough.", Ornstein just said. Teasing the little Storm was too much fun lately. He hoped that he would unhollow in the meantime so that Ornstein could see his face once he laid eyes on Nito.

Soon after they had left the piles of bones behind them, a ladder was seen. After they climbed it, Tempest turned around and said: "It's a dead end."

"I wouldn't be so sure.", Ornstein said. "Try attacking the wall."

"What should this lead to?", Tempest asked but attacked the wall nonetheless, shrieking as the force of his attack made him stumble through the dispelled illusion. "Oh, of course. How did you know?"

"It is just basic common sense.", Ornstein said and stepped out of the tunnel. The way split up. Ornstein looked around. "Hm, let's try the left.", he said. The path led to another ladder down, which Tempest eyed with curiosity but got distracted when an arrow hit him.

"Oh, where is that sharp shooter?!", he exclaimed and stormed off. Ornstein sighed and followed him, orientating himself on the wall and found Tempest locked in battle with one of the giant skeletons while another arrow stuck out of him. Ornstein could see the glowing eyes of the sharpshooter in the dark. With careful steps he managed to make it over there and take care of the bow wielding skeleton. Tempest came over to him with the lantern lit up.

"Hey, there is another ladder that leads up.", he said.

"So where do you want to head?", Ornstein asked. Tempest considered. "...I kinda want to see what is down there first."

"Alright, light the way then.", Ornstein said and let Tempest step forwards. Tempest followed the path and slid down the ladder. Ornstein followed him. They were in a small chamber and when Tempest raised the lantern to raise it up he froze.

There were around six of the giant skeletons in the chamber.

"Let's take the other way.", Tempest said and left the room without looking back.

"Aw come one, I am sure together we could have taken on them.", Ornstein grinned.

"I haven't sat at a bonfire for ages, I won't pick a battle just to die senselessly!", Tempest said and walked back to the ladder but Ornstein leaned against it, basically blocking the path.

"Ornstein, come on, move.", Tempest complained.

"Nah.", Ornstein said. "Not before you give the skeletons down there a try. You have your pyromancy."

"Why should burning them do any good? They are already bones."

"I have seen many bones burned to ash, little Storm."

"Oh.", Tempest sometimes forgot that Ornstein had fought in the dragon war. Won the dragon war. Practically had slayed like 80 of them himself.

"Besides, I have my lightning powers. We won't have to go into this pit at all."

"Oh!", Tempest said another time, starting to understand. The area was rather beneficial for ranged battle. The skeletons all were in a pit and they had loads of room to stand on the sides.

"Alright, let's do this.", Tempest said and switched his sword to his pyromancy flame.

Soon the pit was bright as the day from all the fireballs and lightning strikes that got send down from the duo. The skeletons, who clearly noticed they were under attack, but not from was, were running around headless, sometimes doing a swing and managing to hit each other instead. After Tempest had thrown all the pyromancy he had to offer into the pit, two of the skeletons were down and three of them were tangled into a fight against each other. Ornstein nodded to Tempest, jumped down and downed two of the skeletons which were locked in a fight at once. Tempest followed him, preferring to slide down the latter though and together they managed to take care of the last two skeletons.

"This was kind fun.", Tempest smiled as he lighted up the room to see if something interesting was there. He walked over to a corpse who had something in their hands. "Oh, it's an ember.", he said.

Ornstein came over too to take a look. "A divine one. You should give this to a blacksmith.", he said. The corpse which had hold the ember looked very much like a blacksmith himself. Ornstein wondered how he had managed to die down here.

"Hm, I am sure Andre will be glad about this.", Tempest pocketed the ember. "I guess we should take a look at the other ladder now."

Tempest was the first to climb up the ladder and groaned when he saw the eyes of two more of these giant skeletons glowing in the dark.

"How many of your kind have been buried here?", he asked Ornstein once the dragon slayer had arrived.

"...We fought a war against dragons. Everyone who wasn't burned to ash had to be stashed somewhere. And Nito was fine with his realm to be used as a tomb for our deceased. He is the god of death after all.", Ornstein replied. "I actually don't know if all these skeletons have been revived by Nito or by some Necromancer, but let's move on and get rid of them.", he added.

"Right...", Tempest said as he helped Ornstein dispatching the skeletons. He wondered what exactly the curse of Undead was. Nito's power apparently were breathing life in bones and his task sounded like he needed to watch over the dead. So why where Tempest and the other Undead bound by the dark sign? What even was the dark sign? Tempest noticed that he involuntarily felt for it and quickly withdrew his hand. Touching the dark sign could send him back to the bonfire and he didn't want to just vanish and leave Ornstein alone. On top of that he would need to go back from the catacombs down here. And losing all his souls in the process.

"There are some ladders over there.", Ornstein said and got Tempest out of his thoughts.

"Hm, coming.", he said. After ascending the ladders and following the path, Ornstein pointed down into the darkness. Tempest could see the prism stones they had been following at first.

"Back at the beginning, I guess.", he said, as he dropped down. Ornstein followed him. Tempest didn't escape that his landing was a bit clumsy. A short while later they were back at the cliff where Patches had kicked Tempest down the cliff and Ornstein had kicked down Patches and Tempest was surprised to see that Patches was standing there.

"You... how... ?", he stammered.

"Took a shortcut.", Patches replied. "Look, there shouldn't be any ill will towards us anymore. Why not sit down at the bonfire down there and reflect?"

"There is a bonfire around?!", Tempest yelled and stormed off into the pointed out direction. Ornstein stayed for a little bit, glaring at Patches for a bit and then followed Tempest while muttering: "You better not think about kicking the little Storm down a ledge ever again."

Once Ornstein arrived at the bonfire, Tempest had made use of the twin humanity Patches had given him and not only reversed his hollowing but also kindled the bonfire.

The bonfire was at a dead end and the cliff where Patches had kicked Tempest down only had made them circle around, so they decided to take a look at the path that led away from Patches.

"It's so dark here.", Tempest complained, holding the skull lantern up to better light the path. At least it seemed to be rather straight. Better than the catacombs with all the intertwining paths and stuff. Tempest went ahead squinting into the dark and stopped when he saw another skeletal figure into the dark.

"What is this?", he said, stepped closer and used the lantern to light it up only to be attacked by a big skeleton beast which walked on all fears. Tempest screamed in surprise and then ran away chased by the beast.

Ornstein watched the scene play out in front of him, watching at the ball of light that was Tempest still carrying the lantern and the faintly white glow of the skeleton beast. Ornstein watched this banter half amused but once Tempest had passed him the third time, he picked up his spear and sighed.

"I better help him out.", he said, but took his time as he strolled after Tempest and the skeleton beast. When the both of them made another loop, Ornstein leapt, practically flying over Tempest and landed on the beast severing the the skull from its body. This was enough for the beast to fall apart in all its individual bones and unless the bipedal skeletons it wasn't able to pull itself together again and stayed like this.

"Thanks, Ornstein.", Tempest said. "After all these giant skeletons I couldn't take a beast form of them anymore."

"You should brace yourself for more of them.", Ornstein said, in a scolding tone. A soldier shouldn't be scared by new adversaries. But Tempest wasn't a soldier, he hardly counted as a warrior. Once again Ornstein had to ask himself how he managed to get so far in the first place.

"...More of them...?", Tempest shuddered. "Can't you go first, Ornstein? I am scared." Tempest actually hid himself behind Ornstein's large frame.

"What, are you afraid of the dark?", Ornstein said with a teasing tone in his voice.

"No, but I am scared of not knowing what is in the dark.", Tempest answered.

"Fine.", Ornstein said and went first, taking the lantern from Tempest to light the path. Soon they stood in front of a fog wall.

"Doesn't look like a personal one.", Ornstein said and handed the lantern back to Tempest. "You go first. I always find it unpleasant to walk through this things."

"Do I have to...?", Tempest asked and let himself hanging. When Ornstein didn't intend to move he muttered "Fine." and moved through the fog wall only to be instantly getting hit by a black knight.

"Black Knight!", he yelled.

"Yes, I can see!", Ornstein said. Even in the dark it was hard to miss them.

It was a halberd one. They could be tricky. Artorias had trained them well and Ornstein had also been around to give them tips on how to use the more spear like part of the halberd. Tempest raised his sword to take the first hit and got hit with such a force that he staggered back. The black knight immediately started another attack, an upward thrust that started with a circling motion to bring more force into it and would likely send the little Storm flying. Ornstein jumped in and parried the blow with his own spear. Even with his own strength he could feel the force behind the blow, his arms tingling from the sensation. He put his weight into the parry, trying to get the black knight to step back.

"Ornstein, be careful!", Tempest shouted and Ornstein could hear how an arrow hit metal. Apparently, there was a sharpshooter around here somewhere and Tempest had just saved him from another painful wound. Ornstein lowly growled. This place surely was awful.

The dragon slayer finally managed to win the battle of strength and the black knight had to step back and readjust their weapon. That was enough opportunity for Ornstein to give them a good smack with his weapon. He could hear the sounds of metal on metal and a strange sound as if the black knight wasn't completely corporeal. It didn't surprise him though, the silver knights in the cathedral also hadn't been the real deal, merely magic in reanimated armour.

Still, seeing a once elite group of soldiers reduced to wandering armours, made him feel uneasy.

Ornstein could hear how the little Storm ran back and forth blocking any arrows that were coming his way. After the blow Ornstein had inflicted on the black knight, they managed to get a hold on themselves and stepped forward with raised shield, making a thrust attack of Ornstein mainly useless. Ornstein had to wait for his chance and the moment the black knight raised their halberd for an attack the dragon slayer used the gap in their defense to thrust his spear into them with lightning speed, making the black knight collapse and vanish with a ghostly screech.

"Just where is this sharpshooter?", Tempest complained as Ornstein stepped near him.

"Normally you find them by following the way the arrows came from, but there seems to be a rather large gap.", Ornstein said.

"Oh, you are done?", Tempest said and turned around to face Ornstein but immediately twirled around again when another arrow came flying. Ornstein noticed that Tempest had put the lantern into his right hand to make use of his shield. That explained why he mostly had been able to see while fighting the black knight.

"There appear to be two paths.", Ornstein said, ignoring both the arrows and Tempest remark. A part of him was feeling that he should thank the little Storm for making sure that no arrows made it his way, another part was still a bit grumpy at him having to help him out in the first place. Ornstein surely was glad once they would manage to get out of this far too dark tomb. "Which one should we take?"

"Whichever doesn't lead to a skeleton beast.", Tempest gave a sheepish smile and led the way with a raised skull lantern. Much to his disdain both of the paths were blocked by skeleton beast. He looked at Ornstein with big, pleading eyes.

"You owe me for this, little Storm.", Ornstein said in a half scolding manner. He actually didn't mind taking out the skeleton beasts. It reminded him of dragon hunting. Only that they weren't breathing fire and were bound to the ground, well, expect for a rather large leap. Ornstein's own techniques could deal beautifully with these beasts and so he managed to take out the first of them with a swift hit before leaping up right to the second one. Tempest provided light and gazed at him in awe.

Just as both of the beasts were nothing more but cluttered bones, another arrow came flying from the path on the left. "It seems we found our sharpshooter.", Ornstein said and gently pushed Tempest forward to provide light and block the arrows. Tempest tensed up on his touch, probably having expected to get shoved in a pit again.

The path indeed led to the sharpshooter which Tempest fought too happily. "Finally no more arrows.", he sighed. "Though the path leads to a dead end. I guess we have to take the one that leads down."

"Lead the way.", Ornstein said, gesturing for Tempest to step in front of him. "After all you have the light."

"..And what if there are more skeleton beasts?", Tempest whimpered.

"They barely seem to see or hear anything, just don't get too close.", Ornstein said. As strong and relentless the skeleton beasts appeared, they also seemed to be rather dumb and Ornstein had noticed how close Tempest was able to get to them while wearing a glowing light source before they would even notice his presence.

The path down let into a rather spacious cave where even more skeleton beasts resided. Tempest took a step back and hid himself behind Ornstein's large frame. Ornstein turned around to stare down at him and narrowed his eyes: "Are you expecting me to take out every one of these for you?" He stretched out his arm in the general direction of the beasts.

"Please?", Tempest said, looking everywhere but at Ornstein.

"You owe me more and more, little Storm.", Ornstein grinned. He could at least made the best out of the whole situation. "How about I can wish for one thing for each skeleton beast slain?"

"...Fine.", Tempest said. It was a bit hesitant. Ornstein asked himself if Tempest feared that he would ask something mean of him. Like making him fight the next skeleton beast. Ornstein decided to let Tempest in the dark about this a bit further.

Tempest narrowed his eyes and lightened the cave. He then swung the lantern around and a path to the left and the right revealed themselves.

"Should we check them first?", Tempest asked. Ornstein nodded and took the right way, Tempest closely behind him, the light of the lantern just providing enough brightness for Ornstein to not fall of the path. The right path ended in a dead end however. Tempest bend down to pick up a shield from a corpse.

"What a strange shield...", Tempest said, staring at it. Ornstein took a look at it too and shuddered.

"It's occult...", he said. "That must have been... centuries ago since I last saw one of these. Weapons like this are deliberately smithed to defend against divine power... and also they hurt us more. Weapons like this are banned in Anor Londo for a reason."

"Wait, so there was something like a riot once?", Tempest said, his eyes following Ornstein's every movement.

"It was a long time ago. I don't wish to talk about this.", Ornstein said. "Do you need to take this with you?!", he complained once Tempest slipped the shield in his bag.

"Why not? It's an interesting relic from the past. Should we let it rot here?", he asked.

Ornstein still shuddered at the thought. Having been hit with occult weapons had been a bad experience. The riot failed of course, but it had left him and the other knights of Gwyn with a few new scars.

Tempest apparently had found enough courage to lead the way again and so the both of them took the path to the left. At the end they found another bonfire.

"Oh, there it is. I could see it from before the fog gate.", Tempest exclaimed and sat down at it.

"You are aware the skeleton beasts will come back now?", Ornstein said but sat down too, glad about the short rest.

"Oh, right.", Tempest made a morose face. "I guess I will owe you even more favours now..."

"Hm, I was thinking about letting you cook me the meals I requested.", Ornstein said, as he rummaged around, producing some of the bland food he had taken along and a bit of water.

"Are you kidding? That isn't even a punishment!", Tempest said, his face turning into a grin.

"Oh?", Ornstein said, taking a bite of some dried meat. "Then how about one hour of extra harsh training for every beast I have to slay for you?"

"No, don't, please let me cook!", Tempest said, a shocked expression his face. Ornstein chuckled.

Tempest enjoyed the brief rest he got while Ornstein took in his meal. He already asked himself which kind of meals Ornstein would ask him to cook and his fantasy imagined the most colourful things he wasn't even sure if he could cook them. Tempest was completely spaced out and so completely overheard when Ornstein talked to him and had to be shaken back to reality.

As it turned out, Ornstein simply asked for some privacy for a few minutes and so Tempest took the skull lantern and wandered away from the bonfire, looking into the cave. Damn, he could make a skeleton beast out right in front of the cave and there also was one deeper in. That would be a lot meals to cook. Tempest simply stood there, acting as quiet as possible as to not alert the skeleton beasts. When he had the feeling that enough time had passed, he returned to the bonfire to see how Ornstein changed the bandages on his leg. The wound didn't look too bad but it didn't look to good either.

"Ornstein? I could have helped you with that. You didn't had to send me away for changing your bandages.", Tempest said.

"What?", Ornstein said. "Oh, it wasn't about that. I just thought I could take care of it because you stayed away longer than I thought."

"But then why did you send me away?", Tempest was confused. After all, he had already seen the dragon slayer naked. On accident, but still.

Ornstein stopped cleaning out his wound and looked at Tempest. "Because I am not undead.", he said.

Tempest already wanted to retort that he still didn't get what Ornstein meant when realization flashed over his face. "Oh!", he said. "Ornstein, sorry, I am sorry, I tend to forget that you still have to do things like that... Like, pretty much the only thing we Undead can still do is sleeping and even that isn't necessary..."

"At least you aren't bothered by basic nuisances anymore.", Ornstein said, continuing to cleaning the wound.

"It's just a small comfort.", Tempest said, slumping himself down next to Ornstein. "You know, when I first got into the cell in the Asylum, I was wondering because there was nothing there that was expected for you to take care of your basic needs. And after a whole day I didn't even got any food or water. I was wondering if they expected me to starve or parch until I went hollow but then I realized that I wasn't get hungry or thirsty. I wasn't even getting tired. I wish I would have been able to sleep because sitting in this cell, waiting for the end... it was torture."

Ornstein finished cleaning the wound and pulled some fresh bandages out. "Little Storm, just how long have you been in the Asylum?", he asked. Ornstein had never asked himself just how long Tempest had been isolated in that place. He never had even thought about how the Undead felt who had been brought there only to turn hollow.

"I don't know.", Tempest answered. "Long enough for me to nearly go hollow. At first there were still voices. Other people to talk to. Undead like me. But over time more and more of them fell silent. Until it was only me left, pleading for anyone to talk to me until I fell silent too. If the elite knight hadn't thrown the key, I would have joined the ranks of the hollows in the Asylum."

"You know I was asking myself how you even made it to Anor Londo.", Ornstein finished up the bandage and tightened it. "It was because you had nothing to lose."

"Even that only lasted for one half of the journey.", Tempest said, face gloomy but it brightened up immediately. "Ornstein, I am very glad that you joined me for the second half."

"...You know I am only doing this because of Gwyndolin's orders.", Ornstein said.

"I know, but I am still glad.", Tempest smiled at him and Ornstein was glad that he had his helmet on already. This smile was genuine and heart warming and Ornstein simply couldn't hate the little Storm anymore.

...He actually had stopped hating him a long time ago.

Ornstein glanced at Tempest and saw that he frowned. "What's the matter?", Ornstein asked.

"Oh...", Tempest said. "I was thinking about the elite knight. He never even told me his name and... when I found him he almost was hollow... I just wonder, why I left him there."

"...Do you want to go back and look for him?", Ornstein asked.

Tempest's face brightened up: "It is possible to go back to the asylum?"

"Yes, but first we have to get out of here.", Ornstein said. "Let's move on before this place decides to get even darker.", he said further and put his leggings back on.

"Alright!", Tempest shot up and produced the skull lantern from his bag. "I already scouted the area. There were two skeleton beasts around. One above the cave and one in the cave."

"Lead the way then.", Ornstein said. "And once we see the skeleton beasts, I take care of them. And you owe me a meal for each of them." He grinned under his helmet.

(Author's note: I actually had planned for a long time now that Ornstein would kick Patches down a ledge ^^

What was your favourite part of the chapter? Tell me in the comments!)


	18. Chapter 18

Summary: Ornstein and Tempest dive deeper into the Tomb of Giants before facing the second lord soul bearer.

(Author's note: So, this is the second part of the Tomb of Giants chapter. I am glad that I already have it, because I am going on a vacation for a week and will barely be able to write during it. I hope you enjoy!)

"You know, I think I have an idea how I can help you out with this skeleton beasts.", Tempest said and raised the skull lantern as they followed the path from the bonfire back to the cave.

"Oh?", Ornstein said. "I certainly hope it doesn't contain of storming in blindly." The grin under his helmet widened.

"No, it doesn't.", Tempest said, voice a bit sour. He stopped once the first beast came into view. "There." He took the lantern into his right hands and prepared a fireball with his left.

"Hm, not bad, little Storm.", Ornstein smiled. "That should give us a good head start."

"Hehe, I can get pretty smart if I want too.", Tempest grinned and hurled the fireball at the skeleton beast. It seemed to make a good chunk of damage, the beast coming stumbling at their direction bones still on flames.

"Then I wonder why you chose to be dumb almost all of the time.", Ornstein teased and leapt on the beast when Tempest was still shouting a "Hey" at his "insult".

"Is there anything more?", Ornstein asked, squinting into the dark. Maybe he should hurl a lighting spear into there, just in case, but Tempest shook his head and said: "Nah, I only spotted the two beasts."

Of course Tempest hadn't gone further than the beasts. But there hadn't been any arrows flying and he hadn't seen any glowing eyes in the dark, so they should be good. The both of them continued down into the cave. Tempest got them another head start for the skeleton beast down there and Ornstein took it down with ease. Once it was only a mountain of bones, Ornstein stepped back to let Tempest take the lead again. After all, he had the light source.

"I am so glad when I don't have to see another one of these in my life anymore.", Tempest loudly said as he was pretty much crushed by a giant skeleton coming from the ledge above. Ornstein instantly was on edge, grabbing his spear with both hands.

"So much for no foes around anymore up there!", Ornstein growled and dashed forwards to meet the giant curved sword of the skeleton. Meanwhile, Tempest struggled to get up, tasting both dirt and blood in his mouth.

"What was that?", he groaned and felt around for his Estus. The skull lantern had fallen out of his grip and landed near the area where Ornstein's fight with the skeleton took place. It was dangerously close to the abyss below.

"Oh no!", Tempest struggled to get up and quickly took a sip of his Estus before dashing over to the skull lantern, rolling out of the way as Ornstein stepped back to avoid a crushing hit from the giant skeleton. The hit was enough to make the ground shake and Tempest already saw the lantern falling into the abyss but managed to catch it just in time.

"Phew, that was close.", he said and turned around to see that Ornstein was a bit in a pickle. The fight on the small ledge made it hard for him to move around much and the skeleton liked to block his spear attacks with its big swords.

Tempest raised the lantern with his left hand to provide enough light and used his sword with the right to dash and thrust it into the skeleton from behind.

The distraction was enough for it to turn around and look for its new foe and that made Ornstein able to deal the finishing blow.

"If that place wouldn't be build at some cliff, that would have been nice.", Ornstein said. "I thought you said there wasn't anything anymore, little Storm."

"Slight miscalculation.", Tempest said and stepped back a few steps when Ornstein supposedly glared at him.

"Nothing bad has happened at least, let's move on.", Ornstein said. "Don't forget that you go first.", he added when Tempest once again appeared behind him.

Lowly growling Tempest was the first to go into the cave. Two more skeleton beasts were seen in there, standing rather close to each other.

"Use your pyromancy to get them and I take care of them.", Ornstein said.

"How many meals are this now, seven?", Tempest asked. He actually hadn't counted. He still hoped that Ornstein would be fine with getting meals, because seven hours of extra training sounded far worse than trying to cook a meal the dragon slayer requested. What could be the worst that happened? Tempest loved cooking.

Two fire balls and a flash of golden light later two more skeleton beasts had been reduced to bones. Walking the path first with a raised skull lantern to light the path, Tempest was the first to arrive at a hole in the ground with a ladder.

"It appears we need to go down.", Tempest whispered, not even knowing why he whispered. It was the dark of this place. It made even his voice sound louder than usual.

"I wonder what makes you think that, little Storm.", Ornstein half teased and slid down the ladder after Tempest.

Once Tempest's feet hit the ground, the darkness of the tomb lifted. Once he heard the clank of Ornstein's armour, indicating that the dragon slayer had come down right after him, he smiled and said: "Oh hey, I don't think we need the lantern anymore.", Tempest put the lantern at his belt. "It's almost bright here."

"I wonder, why.", Ornstein said. He hadn't been in this tomb for so long and the light didn't come from lanterns or similar things. It felt like the darkness of the cave just had lifted on its own.

"Hmmm...", Tempest walked along the ledge and looked down. "Maybe it has something to do with this bright area down there?" He pointed down and Ornstein stepped near the ledge to take a look.

"I thought I knew all of Lordran but I never have seen this area before...", he mused.

"It's fascinating...", Tempest said, following the ledge without removing his eyes from the brightly lit area. Ornstein walked next to Tempest, sometimes gently correcting his path so that he wouldn't stumble down and stopped as the cave split and a spacious opening invited them to go deeper into the tomb.

Tempest however still had his eyes on the area down below and followed the ledge with a slightly agape mouth.

Ornstein looked from the cave entrance to the little Storm and to the cave entrance again.

"What are you doing, little Storm?", Ornstein asked, hands stemmed into his hips. "This ledge leads nowhere. We should go down this cave."

"...I want to see the area down there more clearly...", Tempest said, still walking. "My apologies, Ornstein, I am coming back once I took a look."

"Fine.", Ornstein's arm went from stemmed into his hips to crossed in front his chest, his eyes following the little Storm who at least used a hand to feel the wall to make sure to not tumble down the ledge.

Tempest was fascinated by the sight in front of him. He could almost clearly see it. It was a large lake and a beach around the lake with sand almost as white as snow. Or was it ash? He kneeled down to take a better look, face in awe.

Once he heard a very certain sound however, he raised his head. As his eyes met the red shape of another Undead, an Undead who wasn't welcome in his space, he shot up, took a few steps back and then cried out: "Invader!" As soon as the word had left his mouth, he already had taken a hit by a mace.

Ornstein was at Tempest's side in a mere second and the small Undead could hear how his spear clanked against the shield of the invader. Tempest rummaged for his Estus and took a quick sip before joining the fight.

The invader turned out to be no match for their combined forces. Ornstein was strong enough to just break through any of their defense and Tempest could use this opportunity to let his own sword hit the mark.

As the invader fell to the ground with the distinct sound of an Undead getting transported back to the bonfire, Tempest kneeled down to pick up the remains and could feel how the humanity engulfed him.

"Someone you know?", Ornstein asked. Tempest shook his head as an answer.

"No, I never saw them before." He just wanted to get up when he saw that the invader had left their weapons behind. "Huh, strange, I wonder why this happens sometimes?", he asked himself and picked them up, showing the weapons to Ornstein. "Do you recognize them?"

Ornstein took a quick glance but then shook his head. "No, I don't. These are clearly human made weapons. Your friends at Fire Link Shrine probably can help you out better with this than I."

"Hm, I guess.", Tempest said and pocketed the weapons. It wasn't the first time Ornstein asked himself how Tempest could carry all this stuff around. Although he saw him put items into a bottomless box at the bonfire, Tempest normally didn't carry it around with him. Or did he?

"Just how are you able to carry so much stuff around?", Ornstein heard himself ask.

Tempest stared at him, then at his bag and back to Ornstein. His eyes were wide and he opened his mouth to say: "Honestly, I don't have a clue. It just works."

Maybe Tempest's bag was a bottomless one and he just didn't knew it. Ornstein shrugged it off, they had more important things to take care off instead of asking themselves how a scrawny Undead could carry around so much stuff.

"Oh, before the invasion happened, I was looking down at the lake.", Tempest said, pointing down.

"Lake?", Ornstein asked and his eyes travelled downwards as well. It was true, there was a lake. And a beach that looked like it was made out of ash.

"I didn't even knew there was such a beautiful place in Lordran.", Tempest smiled.

"What about Anor Londo?", Ornstein said, gaze still on the lake. This placed seemed almost... haunting. He involuntarily took a step back, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"Anor Londo must have been beautiful once.", Tempest replied. "But the Anor Londo I have been too has been long forsaken."

Ornstein knew that he was right and still the words stung. He had known for centuries that Anor Londo never would get back to its glory, but still, they tried. Even at this moment. Ornstein glanced at the little Storm, completely oblivious about the fact that his sacrifice would it make able for Anor Londo to bloom again.

But where they really doing the right thing?

No, Ornstein couldn't allow himself thoughts of these kind. This was for the greater good. He just had to carry out his mission, guide the little Storm to the First Flame and then he would be free to go where ever he pleased.

Ornstein forcefully removed his gaze from Tempest and turned around.

"Let's just go and face Nito.", he grumbled.

"Are you in a bad mood?", Tempest asked, feeling confused about the dragon slayer suddenly having such a shift in his tone.

"I... just want to get this over with.", Ornstein answered, one hand at the forehead part of his helmet, completely forgetting that he couldn't wipe the sweat of his actual forehead.

"Yes, I would like to leave this tomb soon too.", Tempest growled. "At least there aren't any skeleton beasts anymore."

Ornstein didn't answer. The sooner they would be at the kiln the better. "Don't get attached.", Ornstein whispered in his head to himself but another part in his head replied that it was already too late. Ornstein shook the thought off.

Soon enough they were back at the cave entrance. Tempest gasped as he saw a shining crystal lizard and ran after it. Ornstein followed him in some distance and watched with a blank face when Tempest ran into a skeleton tower and was promptly smashed. Ornstein took his time closing the distance to him as Tempest frantically rolled back and managed to take a sip of his Estus right after the roll.

Ornstein would never understand why these Undead were so fond of rolling around for evading, but it seemed to work. Probably had to do with their small size.

As soon as Ornstein arrived, one thrust with his spear was enough to make the skeleton tower fall apart. Tempest had managed to get back on his feet by now, his sword clutched in both hands, but letting it sink once he saw Ornstein had already taken care of the enemy.

"How often do I have to tell you not to rush off yourself?", Ornstein scolded Tempest. "And be careful, we are still not at the bottom. Don't fall in the pit next to us."

Ornstein knew that Lordran had been built on a mountain, but he was astounded just how high it was. Even from the Tomb of Giants, which was an area he thought would be the deepest point of Lordran, they were able to make out an area he never had seen before.

"The area seems barren...", Tempest said but didn't trust it. There had to be a trap somewhere. He better should be on edge. The "trap" already came into place when he heard the sound of a bowstring and then arrows came flying again, which he blocked with his shield.

"Again?", he sighed. "We better stay close to each other, Ornstein."

The dragon slayer simply nodded. As the two of them continued on the path, another skeleton tower emerged. "Again?", Tempest stepped back and cursed when he saw a second one, basically holding them in a pinch.

"That shouldn't be a problem.", Ornstein said, as he lunged forwards to dismantle the skeleton tower in the back.

"Well, you are stronger than me...", Tempest said as he had to find the right time to hit without being struck by an arrow or an attack of the skeleton tower. Luckily it didn't take many hits to fall down.

"Says the one who beat me.", Ornstein said.

"And died countless times while trying. I only won because I could learn to adjust to the situation.", Tempest grumbled. Ornstein had a sudden understanding.

"You died a lot, right?"

"I haven't counted.", Tempest answered. "Let's go. I want to take care of the sharp shooter."

Tempest was able to see the giant skeleton with the bow now. Another skeleton tower was in front of it. He sighed and braced himself for taking this one out first just as the skeleton tower vanished back into the ground.

"Huh, didn't knew they could do that.", Tempest said. "But that is the perfect opportunity!"

He rushed off and then several things happened at once.

The first was that he felt that another arrow got blocked by his shield.

The second was that the skeleton tower emerged behind him.

And the third that a force was kicking him off and the next thing he knew was, that he was over the ledge.

"Oh no!", Tempest cried out and reached out with his left hand to grab onto the ledge. He barely managed to hold on. From the sounds coming from above he judged that Ornstein had faced the skeleton tower so that he could deal with the sharp shooter in peace. Damn, if he had known there was another skeleton hidden behind the corner...

Tempest could see how the giant skeleton stepped closer and raised its large foot, ready to stomp onto the fingers that barely managed to hold onto the ledge.

"Ornstein, HELP!", Tempest cried out just as the foot stomped down and Tempest lost his grip.

He didn't knew what happened next but when he opened his eyes, he wasn't back at the bonfire.

He very much still was in the middle of the air and his left hand was hold by Ornstein who had the giant skeleton which kicked him down pinned at the wall with his spear, supporting his weight on it, so that he wouldn't fall off too.

And what made the whole situation worse, Tempest could see how the skeleton archer pulled its bow. "Ornstein, watch out!", he yelled and threw his sword in the direction of the skeleton.

The sword did nothing more but clank against the bones, but it was enough for the skeleton to get distracted and enough time for Ornstein to pull him back up.

Once Tempest had solid ground under his feet again, he fell onto his knees and breathed in sharply. Ornstein on the other hand turned around and faced the pinned skeleton.

"How often do I have to repeat that I am the only one who is allowed to kick the little Storm down some ledge?!", he growled and pulled his spear out the wall along with the skeleton and managed to hurl it down the very ledge Tempest almost had fallen down.

Tempest wanted to be impressed, but the skeleton archer had managed to pull itself together and a new arrow was shining on its bow, pointing at Ornstein.

"Oh no, you don't.", Tempest felt heat in his left hand arising as the fireball rose from within him and the distraction of the sudden heat was enough for Tempest to dash forward, pick up his sword and dismantle the skeleton archer once and for all.

"Impressive, little Storm.", Ornstein said, apparently having watched the battle.

"Not half as impressive as you. You saved me. Even though you know I just come back at the bonfire. Thank you. Truly.", Tempest said, feeling the urge to kneel in front of Ornstein in humbleness.

Wait, what had Ornstein said... That he is the only one who was allowed to kick Tempest down a ledge?

All the times Tempest had been kicked into a trap or a pit suddenly make him feel warm and fuzzy inside. This simply was the way Ornstein showed his affection. So Ornstein did like him after all.

He rose and grinned at Ornstein.

"What is that about? I only saved you because I wasn't in the mood to go all this way again. That's all.", Ornstein said, but his innards felt hot at that cute grin. "Don't. Get. Attached.", Ornstein told himself again.

"Yes, right.", Tempest said and his grin didn't waver. He had looked right through Ornstein. This was nothing but an act. The colder Ornstein acted the more he probably liked him. Tempest made a mental note to cook Ornstein one super special meal once they had received the second lord soul.

"It seems the path is ending here.", Tempest said once he stepped through the next opening. His eyes grew wide when he saw a "Pinwheel" evoke some fire and he stepped to the side as the fireball flew, missing him and fading at the wall.

A quick scan of the area revealed that there were at least three or more of them.

"Great.", Tempest said. "We hardly will have some peace until they are all taken care off."

"The first one of them was hardly a challenge.", Ornstein said, adjusting his spear. "Let's just run through and take every single one of them out. Ready?"

Tempest nodded and once the dragon slayer had counted to three the both of them started to run and slay every Pinwheel on their way while making sure to avoid the multiple fireballs that came their way.

Ornstein was right, the Pinwheels were hardly a challenge and so the room was cleaned of them soon enough. Tempest had the vague feeling he had been walking through water while getting to them. He had been so concentrated on following Ornstein and not get burned alive that he barely had perceived the room's layout. At the moment he was standing panting next to Ornstein, who stared at an area which was blocked by wooden sticks. A fog gate could be seen behind it.

"This must be where Nito is.", Ornstein said.

"I am not sure I am ready...", Tempest said. "Can we take a look around this room first?"

"...Sure.", Ornstein said. Tempest wondered if Ornstein had to mentally prepare himself too. Instead of the clear hatred he had for Seath, the dragon slayer didn't seem to have any trouble with the grave lord. And Nito had been part of the dragon war, right? Maybe it felt hard for Ornstein having to lay down an old comrade, that wasn't a mad dragon.

"Look at these skeletons.", Tempest pointed at a bunch of non moving skeletons that were locked in prayers. "Were they praying to Nito?"

"Grave lord covenant, probably.", Ornstein answered.

"...Aren't I in the grave lord covenant too?", Tempest asked.

"By complete accident.", Ornstein said.

"Yes, but like... it is the covenant of Nito, right? What will happen with it once we have slain him?"

"...That is hard to explain, but as a being of death, I don't think Nito can die. We just need to lay down his physical form for the lord soul, that is all."

"That sounds awfully complicated...", Tempest said as he strolled down the path to the river.

"Just change your covenant. Gwyndolin always needs new dark moon blades.", Ornstein suggested.

"No way, punishing sinners sounds scary.", Tempest said, stopping in front of the river. "By the way, Ornstein, are you in a covenant?"

Ornstein's thoughts wandered at this harmless question. Once... once he had been. As the first knight of the master. A golden sign given out to anyone who needed help, making him able to be with them even when being far away. A certain medal that had been offered to the master, earned for each successful helping out. But now, the statue of the master trashed, the master long gone and the last few medals being stuffed in a random chest in Anor Londo.

"No.", Ornstein replied after far too much time passed. He doubted that the covenant of the sunlight warriors still existed, with their leader long gone.

"Not even with the Dark Moon Blades?", Tempest asked as he continued walking and stepped into the river.

"My duty was to guard the cathedral, not to hunt down the sinners.", Ornstein replied and stepped into the river next to Tempest. The cold water seeped into his sabatons and Ornstein shuddered a bit. He had barely managed to notice it when they crossed the river for the first time, too caught up in hunting down the Pinwheels how Tempest called them.

"I didn't even notice how cold the water is!", Tempest said. "At least it isn't very deep." He made a few steps and stopped when something rose from the water. Ornstein readied his spear.

The thing rising from the water was none other than a tiny skeleton. And another one. And another. Soon there was a whole group of tiny skeletons.

"How cute!", Tempest said, hands on his face in delight. "Look at the tiny skeletons, Ornstein!"

"Be careful, you don't know if they are dangerous.", Ornstein said. He had lived long enough in Lordran to know that nothing could be trusted, even the most harmless looking thing.

"Aw, these are just tiny little baby skeletons.", Tempest said, turning himself around to face Ornstein. "What should they be able to... agh." Tempest screamed and raised his hand to see that one of the skeletons had bitten into his hand. And another in his leg. And a third one in his other leg.

"Get them off!", he yelled and shook his hand wildly in an attempt to get the skeleton off whose teeth had managed to bury deep into his flesh, right through his leather glove.

"I told you to be careful...", Ornstein said with a sigh but helped out by stabbing the skeleton that was stuck in Tempest's arm and then the ones who had bitten into his legs.

"Thanks...", Tempest breathed out in relief. "Oh, by the lords, there are more!" He picked up his sword and put up a fight alongside Ornstein. The tiny skeletons luckily got down in one hit, but they did never end. As soon as one of them had fallen, another one took their place.

"Little Storm, it's the water.", Ornstein called out. "They only can attack when they are in the water. Let's get to some ground!"

"Gladly!", Tempest ran to the nearest ledge and saved himself with a jump. Ornstein followed him and stabbed three of the tiny skeletons at once who tried to follow them on land.

"...I think I have enough of this place.", Tempest said and then. "Ornstein, I don't feel too good..." before collapsing.

"Shit.", escaped out of Ornstein's mouth as he kneeled down, finding the Estus on Tempest's belt and spilled some of the orange liquid in the little Undead's mouth.

"...That barely helped...", Tempest breathed out. Ornstein had his eyes on the bite wound. It hadn't closed. Despite him giving Estus to Tempest.

"Little Storm, these tiny skeletons are toxic.", he said. "We need to get it out of your body."

"Oh shit!", Tempest exclaimed, sitting up with great effort. He could feel the toxin in his body. The last time he had felt this kind of pain had been in Blighttown, where the hollows had been fond of toxic blow darts.

"Moss... Do I still have moss...", he said to himself and limply lifted his bag, strength having left him to do anymore than that.

"Moss... of course.", Ornstein exactly knew what Tempest was talking about. They had used moss to cure poison for centuries. He snatched the bag of Tempest and rummaged around in it until he found the kind with the flower.

"Take this.", Ornstein said, tossing it to Tempest who was quick to ingest it. Once the toxin had left his body, he took another sip of his Estus and the wounds vanished.

"I am glad that I still had some moss with me...", Tempest said. "Now you saved me for the second time..."

"...We are so close to our goal.", Ornstein simply said. Of course. He would never admit it.

"It's fine, Ornstein, you can say that you like me.", Tempest said as he sat up grinning.

"What?", Ornstein said, glaring at Tempest. "I am NOT attached to you!", he growled.

"What? I never said that.", Tempest grinned even wider. "I simply said that you started to care about me."

"Well...", Ornstein felt at a bit of a loss. "I guess... I don't hate you?", he admitted.

"I don't hate you either.", Tempest said and finally got up. "How about we challenge this grave lord?"

Ornstein nodded, glad to get this topic over with. So much to not getting attached. He was already deep into it, he cared for the little Storm. He shouldn't, but he truly cared about him. Enough to not let him die another horrible death and bringing him a step closer to hollowing.

He quietly followed Tempest to the fog gate. With a sword strike the wooden sticks fell and Tempest walked to the fog gate, nodding for Ornstein to come over before he went through it. Ornstein braced himself for the cold sensation and once they were through, they stared down a ledge. Again.

"This truly is the bottom of the tomb now, right?", Tempest looked at Ornstein.

"What are you waiting for?", Ornstein said as he gently tossed Ornstein in the direction of the ledge, the little Storm stumbling and falling down. Ornstein followed him.

"I expected this.", Tempest said with a grin but was cut off by the ear piercing scream.

"Well, here we are, this is Grave Lord Nito.", Ornstein said, grabbing his spear.

Tempest only could stare, eyes wide, mouth agape. The grave lord was wearing a cloak but below this cloak he could see skeletons, skeleton over skeleton, a mountain of skeletons! A few of them fell off and picked up weapons, ready to charge at them.

"Just how should we find the weak point of that?!", Tempest exclaimed, hands thrown in the air.

"Just strike, don't think.", Ornstein said and charged forwards, taking care of the skeletons that had fallen down.

"Easier said than done.", Tempest said, still parallelized by the fact just how Nito looked. As another one of these ear piercing screams was heard, Tempest had the urge to move but before he could actually do anything, a sword came out of the ground and tossed him into the air, he impacted on the ground with a thud. "Oh, ouch...", Tempest groaned, taking a sip of his Estus before getting up. Another scream but this time Tempest was prepared and rolled out of the way. Away from Ornstein who had taken care of the skeletons and now locked blades with Nito.

Ornstein didn't expect it but he heard a voice in his head.

"Dragon Slayer...", the voice boomed. "I never thought we would see each other again at this circumstances."

"I know.", Ornstein said through gritted teeth. Nito was strong for being just bones and put a lot of pressure onto Ornstein. "And I am sorry."

"It has to be done.", Nito answered. "My powers have nearly run out anyway. But I won't go down without a fight."

"I know.", Ornstein said. He asked himself where the little Storm was. He pulled back as Nito suddenly didn't extend any force on his spear anymore and almost made Ornstein fall down.

"Oh crap...", Ornstein said as he saw what Nito prepared. The last time he had seen this move had been at the dragon war and it could even take down a grown everlasting dragon. "Run, little Storm!", Ornstein shouted, hoping that Tempest would hear him as he got into hiding.

Tempest was locked into a battle with two giant skeletons at once. He cursed himself that he had managed to run into them, they had been in a far corner of the room. Gladly Ornstein was distracting Nito and so Tempest managed to take care of the first one and just had rolled out of the way when Ornstein yelled at him to run.

One look at Nito told Tempest that something bad was coming and he ran, followed by the giant skeleton. He wasn't quick enough and a wave of dark liquid hit his right boot, almost dissolving it.

"Aw crap.", Tempest said. That would cost a lot of souls to get this boot into shape again. And then he still had to deal with a giant skeleton.

"What are you doing?!", Ornstein appeared at his side. "Oh, another one of these." He sighed and disassembled the skeleton just as another sword emerged from the ground, Tempest rolled away just in time. Apparently Nito's screeches where the cue for this attack.

"This must have been all skeletons, let's go.", Ornstein said and stormed at Nito, Tempest followed him closely. The both of them hacked away at the grave lord, but all that happened was that skeletons fell down from his body, which then took up the weapons of their fallen comrades to fight further.

"I am glad we are using holy weapons or we would have gone overwhelmed quickly.", Ornstein said.

"But still, this is taking no end.", Tempest said. "Shall we hack at him until all his skeletons fell off? We will get overwhelmed sooner or later." Nito wasn't waiting for them to be done with his skeletons but continued to attack them. Tempest just avoided a sword slash by rolling under Nito as he saw something.

"Ornstein, look.", he pointed at Nito. "It's the weak point." He clearly could make out a bone where all the skeletons were attached too. If they could hit this...

"You are right.", Ornstein said, seeing it too. "But, little Storm, for this we need a heavy blow. We both have to strike it at the same time."

"What, but I am too small to reach!", Tempest screeched.

"I am going to kick you up!", Ornstein yelled back.

Tempest glanced at Ornstein and nodded. "Ready.", he said.

"On three.", Ornstein yelled.

"One... two... three!"

Tempest could feel how Ornstein's spear conveyed him into the air. He readied his sword and once he was near the weak point thrust it deep into, at the same time as Ornstein's spear which came from below. The grave lord screamed one last time and then collapsed, only his cloak remaining. And the warm glow of the lord soul.

Tempest picked it up, laughing in ecstasy.

"That was AWESOME!", he called out. "Ornstein, we took down a god!"

"Granted, his powers were already waning...", Ornstein said. "But still, I guess you can be proud of yourself." He smiled under his helmet. He couldn't deny that this felt good.

"I couldn't have done it without your help.", Tempest said. He saw a bonfire sparking in the cave and went to light it. "Ready to leave this place?"

Ornstein nodded but before Tempest touched the bonfire, he stared at a corner and ran off. Once Ornstein caught up to him, Tempest kneeled in front of an armour set. "Hey, the invader was wearing this.", he whispered. "Do you think they have been here before us?"

"Maybe.", Ornstein said, as Tempest carried the armour set to the bonfire. The little Storm would never stop hoarding, he felt.

"I think I ask Rhea about them later. If she made it out, of course." There was a bit of concern on the little Storm's face. "No, she must have made it out, I shouldn't worry too much."

Ornstein was silent. Tempest had made bonds during his time in Lordran and he already had felt the pain of having to lose this bonds. Ornstein knew this pain too well.

He also knew that the bond with the little Storm would end one day. They already were halfway there. Ornstein shook this thoughts off. He didn't want to think about this now.

"Ready to teleport?", Tempest asked and Ornstein took Tempest's hand, closing his eyes as the familiar nausea of the teleport hit him and they got carried to another place.


	19. Chapter 19

Summary: After obtaining the second of the lord souls, Tempest and Ornstein decide to take a break.

(Author's note: I just wanted to write some fluff and was thinking it would be a short chapter and now I have 6k and also some tiny angst sprinkled into it. Wtf?)

Once Ornstein felt that he was on secure ground he opened his eyes and swallowed back the nausea he felt. Once his sight stabilized, he noticed where they were.

"Anor Londo?", he asked. He was surprised, he had suspected that Tempest would bring them back to Fire Link Shrine to plan how to tackle the next lord soul.

"Actually...", Tempest grinned at him. "I wanted to take a bath. We were in down in these caves quite some time. And I also wanted for you to be able to take a break, because you got hurt." Tempest gestured to Ornstein's leg.

"Taking a bath sounds like a good idea, little Storm.", Ornstein smiled. "Let's go and wash all this dirt and sweat off."

"Wait, what?", Tempest struggled to keep up with the large strides of the dragon slayer. "Are you saying we can take a bath together?"

"...It is not like we haven't seen each other naked already...", Ornstein said. "Besides, the water in the Anor Londo bathroom comes from a hot spring that helps with healing injuries. I will be back into form a lot quicker when I take a bath in it."

"Awesome.", Tempest said. "I didn't knew the water in Anor Londo had such powers..."

"It isn't from a natural spring... the water was blessed with healing magic in the past. It was a very strong blessing, but over the years it weakened. Nowadays, it mostly helps with pain and injuries will heal quicker. And of course, even back then, the water wasn't able to heal grave injuries. It mostly was there to help with healing all the minor scraps and cuts.", Ornstein explained.

Soon the both of them had arrived at the bathroom. "I have the feeling I should have worked on my armour first...", Tempest said, tugging at the black leather. "It's all messed up, I won't have anything to dress in after the bath." Ornstein silently rummaged around in a cupboard while Tempest spoked and produced a cozy looking robe which he handed to Tempest.

"I completely forget that we had some of them here...", he said. "Luckily, we have them in human sizes." He then grabbed one of the bigger robes for himself and added a few towels. "You can wear this after the bath, so you won't have to be naked while you repair your armour."

Tempest nodded, looking at the robe. It looked very fuzzy and comfortable. He already looked forward to wearing this.

While Ornstein had sounded like he was fine with Tempest seeing him naked and vice versa, both of them still seemed to want to be polite and turned around while the other one got undressed. Tempest could hear how Ornstein's armour clanked to the ground as he got out of his own leather garb and put the gargoyle's helm on top of it. When he was done, he glanced at Ornstein and had to bring a hand to his nose to prevent further nosebleeds. Even from behind the dragon slayer's build was a sight to behold.

Once Tempest had stared at Ornstein's butt for long enough, he noticed that the dragon slayer had removed the bandage around his leg and he could see the wound that had been caused by the arrow, feeling a bit guilty about it.

"...stop staring...", Ornstein said and Tempest lowered his head at once.

"S...sorry.", he said, binding the towel around his waist and leaving for the basin, unwrapping the towel and laying it down at the edge before he submerged himself in the hot water. In an instant, he felt relaxed and used a moment to just soak in the warm feeling of the water engulfing him.

A few moments later he heard the pitter-patter of naked feet on the marble tiles before the large form of the dragon slayer submerged himself into the water with a minor splash. Tempest resisted the urge to turn around to see Ornstein in all his naked glory, exploring his own body instead.

Compared to the dragon slayer, more, compared to almost everyone, he really was small. He had to stay at the edge of the basin or he would need to swim. He wasn't as scrawny anymore, the training with Ornstein and the challenges he overcome had helped with building a few muscles, but he was far away from the build of the dragon slayer, where each and every muscle seemed to shine when he moved. And of course, there was the Dark Sign on his chest, the irrevocably proof that he was undead.

Suddenly, something splashed in front of Tempest and he winced and closed his eyes, not having expected it. Once he opened his eyes again, he saw a wash cloth and some soap swimming in front of him. As he picked it up, he heard Ornstein say: "You wanted to wash up, right?"

"Mhm, thanks." Tempest said and applied some soap to the wash cloth which he then used to rub off some dirt, mostly blood from the healed injuries, which tinged the water in front of him in a deep red. Tempest moved a few meters to the side once all the blood was scrubbed off and submerged his head under water. Once he rose, he dispensed some soap in his hair before submerging once again, to wash it out, rising with a head of freshly washed hair.

Once he was done, he glanced at Ornstein, who wasn't washing up at the moment, but seemingly chilled in the hot water, sitting at a location where the water must be deeper. Tempest noticed that the dragon slayer had put his ponytail up, seemingly not wanting to wash it. Tempest eyes focused on Ornstein's hair.

It had looked pretty similar when he still had been in the Darkmoon Tomb, but kind of a bit more frizzy. Back then Tempest didn't knew that it could be even softer, didn't knew that this actually was the state of Ornstein's hair when it was dirty and untended.

Tempest swam closer to Ornstein and said: "Let me help you with your hair."

Ornstein started up, making Tempest question if the dragon slayer had fallen asleep in the warm water. "What?", he asked, confirming Tempest's suspicion that Ornstein hadn't been fully there.

"Your hair. It needs a wash.", Tempest said. "You said it is a hassle to wash it on your own, right? I get this, it's so long. Let me help you."

"You, little Storm?", Ornstein said with a chuckle. "You are small enough to completely vanish into my hair."

"To be honest, it looks like it would make a comfy blanket.", Tempest grinned. "And I agree, we can't do it here. You would have to come to the edge, so that I can help you with washing your hair."

Tempest thought that Ornstein would decline. After all, Tempest had managed to make Ornstein mad because he couldn't help but had to touch his hair when the dragon slayer had been asleep. Ornstein had been less than thrilled back then...

"Fine.", Ornstein said and stood up, walking slowly closer to the edge. Tempest's eyes followed him hungrily and he quickly had to put a hand against his nose to hide a little nosebleed. Apparently, the dragon slayer didn't care anymore for Tempest to see him naked, but Tempest very much felt hot and sweaty at the sight. What a good thing he was already in the water.

Ornstein sat back down once he was at the edge, leaning on both of his arms which rested on the marble tiles while he waited. "What are you waiting for?", he asked.

"Um, I thought, I didn't knew...", Tempest stammered and then gave up, swimming over to Ornstein, climbing out of the basin. Despite knowing that Ornstein had already seen him naked, he still felt a bit awkward to not be clothed and so picked his towel up to bind it around his waist. When he returned, Ornstein had turned around and loosened his hair which cascaded down his back like an obscure waterfall of blood.

"It's so long.", Tempest gasped, as he carefully took a streak in his hands to take a closer look. Ornstein tensed a bit at his touch, but relaxed once Tempest let the streak go.

"We first have to make your hair wet.", Tempest said. "Well, the part that isn't already in the water." Tempest looked around and found a bucket standing around that was perfect for the task. He filled it with water from the basin, sat down next to Ornstein and dipped his feet into the water.

"Close your eyes.", Tempest said and only waited a few more seconds before dumping the contents of the bucket right over Ornstein. The water dripped from his head and the curls straightened, making the hair looking ever longer.

"You can open your eyes again.", Tempest said but Ornstein shook his head.

"Just add the soap.", he said and Tempest understood. Ornstein didn't want to get soap in the eyes. It was relatable, would Tempest have hair as long as this, he would have preferred for his eyes to be closed too once the wash was over.

"I will apply the soap then.", Tempest said. "I need to get your hair out of the water for this, is this alright?"

Ornstein nodded and Tempest got to work, first pulling the hair out of the water and then applying soap to it, starting from the head until it was all foamy down to the tips. "No wonder you don't like washing you hair, this is taking ages.", Tempest said.

"It was easier when someone would help me with it...", Ornstein mentioned. "Smough normally would help me. And before Smough, it was usually Artorias."

He grew quiet after this, probably thinking about his dead companions. Tempest felt another pang of guilt in his stomach. Artorias wasn't his fault, but Smough... He couldn't have known that the protectors of the lord vessel were a couple, he couldn't have known that Ornstein wanted to die back then. He couldn't have known anything, he had just defended himself. And came back. Again and again... until...

Tempest shook the thoughts aside and filled the bucket with new water. "I will dump another bucket of water over you and then get all the foam out.", he announced and saw Ornstein tense at this announcement.

He saw why soon, because after the water had washed away most of the foam, Tempest worked his way through Ornstein's hair and had to loosen a lot of little knots. It felt like the dragon slayer hadn't brushed his hair in days.

"How can your hair be so stubborn?", Tempest said. "Don't you own a brush?"

Ornstein seemed to deflate a little at this and then murmured something. "What was that? I couldn't hear you.", Tempest said as he was working on a particular bad knot.

"I don't like brushing, alright?!", Ornstein spat out and Tempest stopped working on his hair, speechless, before breaking out into laughter.

"What's so funny?", Ornstein snapped.

"Oh nothing, this is just... cute.", Tempest said once his laughing fit had ended. Also, he didn't get the thought of Ornstein attacking the brush like a cat out of his mind and snorted again.

"Stop this.", Ornstein growled. "It's bad enough that you drag and pull at my hair. It twinges."

"Almost done.", Tempest said and worked on the last knot. In the meantime, the hair had half dried and already started to form back into curls. "Is brushing really that bad for you?", Tempest asked once he was done.

"I tried at first...", Ornstein said. "But the brush always would get stuck at a knot and then I would give up and just put my hair into a ponytail. It worked. So why should I change it?"

"So you aren't wearing the ponytail because of a stylistic choice but just because you didn't want to brush your hair?", Tempest felt another laughing fit coming.

"Hm, the design of my armour was done in mind with my hair, so both kind of.", Ornstein said. "Anyway, I think this bath made me hungry. How about you go and prepare one of the seven meals you owe me?"

"Oh right.", Tempest said, "So what do you want to eat?"

Ornstein had a glint in his eyes and Tempest gulped once he saw it. That wasn't a normal glint. That glint looked downright demonic.

"I want some applesauce with green beans into it.", Ornstein said.

Tempest felt himself go pale. He might not taste anything anymore, but he just knew how horrible this had to taste. "Ew, why would you torture yourself like this?", he said, wrinkling his nose.

"It may be hard for you to believe, but I actually like the taste.", Ornstein flatly said. "Now go and cook instead of discussing with me."

"I really have to cook something that doesn't go together at all...?", Tempest said, thinking about speaking up, but got up and dried off his feet. The rest of him had managed to dry while he had worked on Ornstein's hair.

"I am awaiting an excellent meal.", Ornstein said and the demonic glint never left his eyes.

"This couldn't be excellent even with the best ingredients in the whole wide world.", Tempest said and left, having an uneasy feeling about the request.

In the changing room, Tempest did nothing more but to put on his underwear and put the bathrobe over it. It was as warm and cozy as he had imagined. Happily he went to the storage rooms, frowning when he thought about what he had to get.

Once Tempest had arrived at the storage room, he once again was in awe about all the kind of ingredients that got stored there, sealed with magic, so that it would never rot. He asked himself however how the food got restocked. Even Ornstein didn't knew it. The food would run out sooner or later. The only reason that it hadn't run out probably had been that only like three or so people actually ate from it instead of a whole cathedral.

After Tempest had found some apples and the sack filled with green beans, he brought everything into the kitchen. As he prepared the apples to make some applesauce out of them, starting with peeling them, he lamented that he couldn't use them to make some tasty apple pie. There had been a recipe in the book he had found in Artorias' room and Tempest had his own recipe and he had planned to combine the two.

Wait a minute... When Ornstein had asked Tempest to cook for him he had said that this was hardly a punishment for him... Tempest loved to cook... But now that Ornstein had requested such a strange meal, it stroke him like lightning.

That he asked Tempest to cook this strange meal, was meant as a punishment for him, because Tempest hadn't tried to fight the skeleton beast on his owns but always had hidden behind Ornstein and let him do a majority of the work.

And Tempest had to cook six more meals of this. While the mashed the apples and started to boil some water for the beans, he cringed.

Even though he barely could taste anything anymore, just knowing how badly these two things clashed, felt like torture for him, a passionate cook.

"Who would have thought he could be that sneaky?", Tempest growled.

"Who is sneaky?" Tempest started up and turned around to see Ornstein, dressed in the bathrobe and still damp hair put into the usual ponytail. The bright red hair glistened into the light of the kitchen and Tempest didn't answer at first, being caught in how beautiful it looked.

"I believe I asked you a question.", Ornstein said and came fully into the kitchen, sitting down, watching Tempest.

"Oh, uh, nobody.", Tempest said. "Was just talking to myself..."

As Tempest put his attention on the pots before him, his gaze wandered back to Ornstein, who was sitting there in only bathrobes. Did that mean... was he naked underneath? Just like Tempest was? Tempest tried to stare as unobtrusive as possible, seeing how the muscles stood out beneath the bath robe and how he could see a glimmer of naked skin at his legs.

Tempest could feel another nosebleed come. He didn't even knew why he found this so hot. He had seen the dragon slayer fully naked not even an hour ago. But just the thought, that Ornstein had come into the kitchen without being fully clothed made his whole body heat up and he started to sweat.

Or maybe that was just because he stood in front of the stove and the applesauce he was cooking was nearly burning! Tempest quickly reduced the temperature and concentrated back on the meal.

"That you have to handle fire is the the main reason that I am not good at cooking.", Ornstein said from behind.

"What?", Tempest said, he hadn't expected that Ornstein said anything. As he fully registered what Ornstein had said, he just asked: "Why?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious?", Ornstein said.

Tempest considered for a bit. What did he know about Ornstein? He was looking surprisingly soft under this armour, at least his face, his body was pure muscle mass. He had super long hair which was also soft, but he didn't like it to be touched. And brushed. He had cute little fangs so that he didn't like to eat fruits in the whole or raw and preferred them cooked or mashed. He said of himself that he would try out every new food but Tempest had noticed that he favoured dishes with fish over every other dish. He liked sheep. He was exorbitantly good in training even a nobody like Tempest into something like a warrior. And then there was the most important fact Tempest had nearly forgotten, he had slayed like over eighty dragons on his own.

Oh, of course.

"You don't take kindly to fire, do you?", Tempest said, gaze still on the pots. The applesauce took form and the beans felt nearly cooked.

"You wouldn't too when you were in danger to get roasted alive every time you were sent out to battle...", Ornstein said. "If you had used your pyromancy you either would have had an easier time or an even harder time fighting me. I have two different reactions to it."

"But when you are afraid of fire, why haven't you said anything whenever I used my pyromancy?", Tempest asked.

"It's useful. Besides, you weren't using the pyromancy against me and I stayed far enough away to not be fazed by it." Ornstein drummed with his fingers on the table. "Isn't the food ready yet? I have hardly ate something sustainable the last few days."

"I wouldn't call this food sustainable...", Tempest said as he poured the applesauce in a bowl and added the green beans. He turned around and asked: "You are really sure you want to eat this?"

"Yes. And I also count on you to keep me company while I eat.", Ornstein said.

"Great. Just because I don't have to eat anymore doesn't mean that I am incapable of vomiting.", Tempest sat down opposite to Ornstein and watched. He was genuinely curious if the dragon slayer really would eat this stuff. Though, why should he torture himself? He probably had some weird taste in food.

It actually felt worth investigating.

Tempest eyes followed Ornstein's hand as he spooned the food and he cold see some of the beans in the apple sauce. He cringed when Ornstein actually ate this. He didn't look disgusted, but he also didn't look like he enjoyed it. He seemed more...thoughtful. Tempest also noticed that he seemed to take more time eating.

"So...", Tempest started, "Why do you want to eat this?"

Ornstein slowly finished chewing before he replied: "When I was still with Smough, he started to teach me cooking. I never got really good at it, how you have seen. I also had the habit to combine foods that are apparently not suited for each other at all."

Ornstein took another spoonful and continued the story after he had swallowed: "While Smough was quick to tell me that he would take care of the cooking, I liked to try out to eat food that shouldn't go with each other in secret. I don't know why, but it tasted exciting and it soon become something that could be described as a... guilty pleasure I guess."

"Weird.", Tempest only commented before realizing that he had to cook more meals like that. He shuddered at the thought. He might not be the one who had to eat it, but for his honour as a cook it truly felt like a punishment.

"Little Storm, what are your next plans?", Ornstein asked.

"I wanted to give you a break.", Tempest said without hesitating. "You got hurt while helping me and you already helped me getting two of the lord souls. And for the next one we have to go back to Blighttown." Ornstein's face fell as Tempest mentioned this. "Ah, sorry sorry, we at least won't have to stay long there at least. So I wanted to make sure that we both are ready to go."

"Didn't you want to take care of the black knights and visit the knight that freed you in the Asylum?", Ornstein asked.

"You remembered?!", Tempest's face sparkled. "...Uh, but I thought you wanted to get through with this as quickly as possible..."

"I changed my mind, is all.", Ornstein said, his gaze everywhere but on Tempest and Tempest could see the faint of a blush on his face.

"It is very appreciated.", Tempest smiled and put his head in his hand which got supported by his elbow on the table. "But first lets take a break."

"Good opportunity to train you some more.", Ornstein said, which make Tempest's face fell.

"Hey, I thought cooking the meals made up for you helping me."

"Don't worry, just regular training.", Ornstein grinned. "Not the super hard one I had in mind shouldn't you be cooperative and cook the meals."

As Ornstein had finished eating the moon had risen over Anor Londo, indicating that Gwyndolin had switched on the night. Ornstein was rather exhausted and decided to go to bed right away while Tempest strolled over to the bonfire and worked on fixing his armour.

"It got really messed up.", he groaned as he channelled souls into the repair box to fix it up. At least the damage was easily repaired. After Tempest was done, he took some stock on the items he collected in the catacombs and the Tomb of the Giants and sorted anything in the bottomless box that he wouldn't need in the near future.

After Tempest had repaired his armour, he did the same with his sword and shield and then considered if he should use his souls to strengthen himself or to buy stuff. He felt like he wanted to upgrade his pyromancy flame a bit more, so he decided to keep half of the souls he currently had as he strengthened himself.

After the work was done, Tempest wondered what he should do in the night. While it was possible for Undead to fall asleep and stay asleep, he felt far too giddy to actually go lay in a bed and drift off to sleep. He decided to wander the cathedral instead. His first stop was the illusion of the princess of sunlight.

Honestly, why was Gwyndolin keeping it around? Tempest had already seen through it, there wasn't a need for it anymore. And with Ornstein assigned at his side they made sure that he would go through with the mission. Tempest observed the illusion and asked himself if Gwynevere really had looked like that or if she was glorified for this illusion. He barely could believe that she was that big, even for a god that felt too much. His gaze fell onto her chest, surely a sight that made a lot of guys crazy once, but wasn't at any interest for Tempest. He much more preferred to get some hints of Ornstein's chest.

Tempest knew that it was the wrong thing to think, the dragon slayer surely wasn't in the slightest attracted to him, outright had denied that he got attached to him, though that felt like a denial in itself, but Tempest had been glad to hear that Ornstein was into guys too.

But they surely would go different paths once this all was over. Tempest was already happy that they had become friends. They were friends, right? After all, Ornstein had been fine with him washing his hair. The first time Tempest had ever touched Ornstein's hair the dragon slayer had been furious. That felt like a lot of progress.

Tempest stopped looking at the illusion and turned around to explore a different part of the cathedral. After a while of aimless walking he arrived at the room where Ornstein had let him wait once. The room could only be described as cozy. It was furnished with a bench with a lot of cushions on it, a table and a few chairs as well as a book shelf. There was a chimney at the wall, but it looked like it hadn't been lighted for a few weeks now. Neither had it been cleaned, it was full of ash.

Tempest walked over to the bookshelf and took a look at the books. Some of them were history books, some of them were cookbooks, most of them were novels. He took one and flipped through it, a romance novel like it seemed. He checked a few more, all romance novels. He wondered if Ornstein had read them or Smough, the executioner. Maybe they both had read them.

Tempest put the book he had flipped through back into the shelf and looked at the cushioned bench. He wondered if Ornstein and Smough had spend their time together at he bench, cuddling with each other. It was hard for Tempest to get a picture from this, not knowing how the executioner looked outside of his armour. As he still tried to find a face to this grotesque armour, his mind wandered and in his fantasy it was him who cuddled in Ornstein's embrace.

He shook his head. No, this would never happen. They didn't had that relationship, regardless how much Tempest wished for it. He doubted that Ornstein even could fall in love with a human, much worse an Undead. He was of the race of the gods. And he made it clear and clear again, that he only was at Tempest side for the mission. Tempest had the feeling that Ornstein liked him though, but like, it surely weren'T the same feelings Tempest felt. He sighed and went to the table. Like the last time, they were laying around quite a bunch of doodles. Ornstein was the only one who could have done them.

Tempest remembered that he had gotten mad the last time he looked but now Ornstein wasn't around, so Tempest decided to take a closer look.

Most of the drawings were of Ornstein himself and an even larger man with messy short hair, a full beard and a thick belly. Oh, that must have been Smough. Tempest did had a completely different person in mind, not one that looked so... normal. Tempest wondered if that drawings were Ornstein's way to cope with the death of his partner. Guilt bloomed through his chest again. He hadn't known about it, he kind of had to beat them to move on with the mission he had been tasked with, but he still felt sorry. It was awful loosing someone you cared for.

Tempest had lived through all of this already. When he had become Undead, he had to leave his friends and family behind (but could the one who betrayed him still be counted as friend?) and he had grown rather fond of some of the Undead Ayslum inhabitants... until they all had gone hollow.

...And sadly some of the Undead he had met on his journey had gone through a similar fate... His mind wandered to the Crestfallen Warrior... but this one already had given up. The other ones still had goals. They would be fine as long as they wouldn't give up.

Tempest would check up on all of them the next time on Fire Link Shrine. For now, he should rest alongside Ornstein so that they could get the third lord soul without great trouble.

As Tempest had looked through the drawings, all of Ornstein and Smough doing cute couple stuff, he found one that wasn't of this motive. He picked it up and looked at it with curiosity to see... him.

That was surprising. Tempest stared at the drawing. At first it looked like just a regular knight of Astora, wearing the elite knight set, but judging that this drawing had a katana with him and the visor was up and he could spot the way he grinned at it, made it clear that it was Tempest.

But why should Ornstein draw him?

He mainly seemed to draw things that he was fond of. So did that mean... did that mean that Ornstein was fond of Tempest...?

Tempest sighed as he laid the drawing back down. Ornstein surely wasn't liking him the same way as Tempest liked Ornstein. He had to get this into this head.

Tempest still felt glad that he had the opportunity to travel with the dragon slayer. And it certainly was able to talk with him. …Maybe Tempest should talk with Ornstein. Outright ask him who he was for him. It certainly would get his mind at ease.

Tempest decided to set a few things clear the next morning. For now he should go to bed. He could think about how to talk to Ornstein and after he figured it out he maybe would be able to get a bit of sleep.

To his surprise, Tempest really managed to fall to sleep and even slept long enough that Ornstein already was in the kitchen when he came stumbling in. And he was eating a slice of bread with marmelade... and pickles on it! Tempest cringed at the sight.

"Oh, good morning, little Storm.", Ornstein said, taking another bite of the horrible sandwich. "I was thinking that we could train a bit today before you cook my meal for the day."

"It can't be worse than this...", Tempest said. How someone could put sour stuff on overly sweat stuff and even worse, mix vegetables and fruits, wasn't to his understanding.

"So for today I would like to have a steak in lemon sauce.", Ornstein said. Tempest sat down at the table and let his head fall on it. "That IS worse..."

Lemon sauce would go to a lot of things, mainly pork and fish, but it certainly wasn't going well with steak. Heck, the whole flavour would get lost. Tempest nearly wished he hadn't chickened out with fighting the skeleton beasts. Nearly.

Thinking of chicken, Tempest asked if it was able to mess this up. You could do pretty much anything with it. Tempest doubted that Ornstein knew this and maybe he should coax the dragon slayer into a dish with chicken next.

As Ornstein was eating, Tempest remembered his thoughts from the last night and decided to just spill it right away: "Ornstein, what do you think about me?"

Ornstein stopped eating and looked Tempest over from toe to head. This sudden question surprised him. What was it the little Storm wanted to here? After having the feeling that enough time had passed, Ornstein simply answered: "You aren't a lost case anymore."

"That is not what I meant!", Tempest blurted out. "When you said, you weren't attached... how was this meant?!"

"How should this be meant? That I am not attached of course.", Ornstein said, an uneasy feeling in his chest. He knew that he already had gotten attached. It was too late to deny it, but by the remaining lord souls, he would try.

"No, I mean, how was attached meant in that context?", Tempest asked, seeming to grow more and more frustrated and impatient as the conversation went on.

"Why should you want to know that?", Ornstein asked. "I just help you because Gwyndolin ordered me too, not because I care about you or something." He averted his gaze and dearly hoped that his face hadn't blushed. In an attempt to hide any blushing, he picked up his food again and took another bite. The little Storm looked both relieved and disappointed.

"Oh, of course...", he said and grew silent. Ornstein had the feeling that every movement of him was followed by Tempest's gaze, it got so invasive after a while that he had to tell him to get him to the training grounds. Tempest complied without another word.

As Tempest waited for Ornstein at the training grounds, sharpening his sword, his thoughts wandered. Every time Ornstein said that he only followed Gwyndolin's order, but he also made it more than clear that it wasn't because he was caring about Tempest. Why did he had to add that? Didn't that mean that Ornstein was in denial about his own feelings?

"I would at least like him to hear that he cares about me...", Tempest murmured. It still hurt him. It still hurt that he seemed to be alone with his feelings. At least Ornstein was willing to spend time with him. Tempest decided that this would be enough. He had been alone in this land for far too long, having some company, even when it was a grumpy dragon slayer who claimed that he didn't like him, was the best thing that had happened to Tempest since he woke up in the Asylum.

When Ornstein came to the training Tempest used all the techniques he had learned during their time in the catacombs and the Tomb of the Giants and only after his Estus was empty they stopped and and Ornstein had to genuinely admit that Tempest had made him sweat.

After their training was over, Tempest cooked the dreaded steak with lemon sauce. This time Ornstein also wanted him to watch. Tempest thought that this was part of his punishment, but thinking about it... Ornstein just didn't want to be alone. When Tempest had learned at least one thing about Ornstein, then it was how lonely he was.

Maybe he didn't want to become attached because he was fearing of losing another person? If Tempest would going hollow it would be the same as him being dead, even worse, he would be damned to shamble around and attack anyone for souls, even the ones he loved... like Ornstein. What a frightening thought!

Though Tempest was absolutely sure with Ornstein at his side, he wouldn't get hollow anymore. He just had to show him. He had to show Ornstein that he could trust him. As this thought passed through his head, Tempest smiled.

"What are you grinning at?", Ornstein wanted to know, frowning and it was not because of the lemon sauce that Tempest had made extra sour.

"At you eating awful food without batting an eye.", Tempest quickly replied. "And me being glad that I don't have to be the one to eat it. Even though I am the one who has to cook it and that feels weird...

Ornstein seemed to be satisfied with Tempest's string of words. Because his leg had started to hurt again after the training session in the morning, he gave Tempest the afternoon free and went to lay down but only after he had requested the next dish.

Cheese soup with beer added in it. Tempest wrinkled his nose at the thought before he went off to find something to do.

(Author's note: So do you guys have any ideas for food that tastes awful with each other and is fitting for medieval times? Researching this has been rather challenging...)


	20. Chapter 20

Summary: Ornstein and Tempest share a moment before they head out again. Ornstein, trying to avoid going to Blighttown, gets Tempest to do other stuff first.

(Author's note: I wanted to have this out far sooner, but with christmas in the way and after christmas me getting sick, I couldn't. Sorry for the wait.)

"Hey, Ornstein, how about some chicken broth for tonight's dinner? I let you even add something weird."

That was the note that Tempest had written and put into the wooden box that was standing around in the cathedral. And right at this moment, Tempest squinted his eyes trying to decipher what Ornstein had written on it as reply.

"I am sure there isn't the word chicken in it...", Tempest said, turning the slip of paper, thinking that maybe he tried to read it from the wrong direction, but still to no avail. There probably wasn't the word chicken in it, but Ornstein's handwriting could only be considered chicken scratch.

After ten minutes had passed and Tempest had simply maid out the word "No" in it, he gave up and went to find Ornstein.

He found the dragon slayer in a rather sun-drenched room that smelled marvellous. A quick look around unveiled the source of the smell and Tempest put both hands at his cheeks as he squeaked with delight: "A herbal garden!"

Ornstein, who had been in the midst of watering some thyme, turned around in surprise. "Oh, it's you, little Storm.", he said and continued to water the plants if nothing ever happened.

"Why haven't you told me of this place? This is every cook's dream!", Tempest shouted out and went to look at every single plant in the room. There was thyme, rosemary, dill, basil, oregano, garden cress and many more.

"Because all the herbs are already in the kitchen to use.", Ornstein said, picking up some scissors to cut one of the plants into shape. "This garden...", his voice suddenly grew somber, "...it has been his garden."

Tempest could feel the pang of guilt in his stomach. He didn't need a name to know who Ornstein was referring to. That was something that he never would be able to undo. Besides...

… an idea formed in Tempest but he wanted the dragon slayer to be in the right mood for this. For now, he was more than eager to spend more time in this garden.

"May I help you taking care of it?", he asked and made his best puppy eyes at Ornstein, who gave him a glance and simply murmured "Fine."

After a good while of them working mostly in silence next to each other, only broken by Ornstein to tell Tempest how to handle the plants once in a while, the dragon slayer spoke again: "Little Storm, but you didn't come here to help me with the herbal garden, right? After all, this was your first time seeing it."

"Oh, right!", Tempest remembered why he had come finding Ornstein in the first place. He found the slip of paper in his pocket and showed it to Ornstein. "I couldn't read your handwriting.", he confessed.

Ornstein gave the slip a paper a quick glance and then sighed deeply, muttering something under his breath. Then, he raised his voice and said: "I wrote: No thanks, but you could make me some meatballs with a sweet cream sauce."

"Huh, that isn't something that I would put together, but at least it sounds edible...", Tempest said. "Have you gotten tired of weird foods already?"

Ornstein blushed and snapped at Tempest: "That's n.. none of your business!"

"It's alright.", Tempest grinned. "Can I take some fresh parsley for the meal? It will make it far better."

Ornstein gave his permission and once Tempest had cut off enough parsley he went to cook the requested meal.

Their little break continued for two more days until Ornstein said that his leg was fully healed and they should move out again the next day. He even told Tempest that he now was allowed to cook the chicken broth, but only when he added every single herb of the herbal garden into it, simply because he wanted to know how it tasted like.

Even though Tempest's couldn't taste anymore and his sense of smell wasn't as refined as it once used to be, the overload of the herbs in the broth made his eyes water while cooking. He was halfway expecting Ornstein to spit out the soup before he remembered what the dragon slayer had eaten completely unironically the last few days.

As Ornstein spooned the soup he looked rather thoughtful and once he was finished he simply said: "Thought this would taste better." and left, not asking for a second serving.

Tempest stayed, looking at the rest of the soup. He got curious himself. How it tasted like. But he knew when he tried to eat it, it would taste the same as paper for him. He was Undead and didn't need to eat anymore and therefore also couldn't taste anymore and he knew it. The only thing he could taste was the Estus Flask and drinking from it when not hurt felt wrong.

He stirred the soup with a spoon for a little while as he was lost in thoughts, hoping that Ornstein would eat the rest for breakfast. The only other people he could give the soup were the giant blacksmith and Dark Sun Gwyndolin and Tempest didn't want to unleash the All-Herb-Soup on them unprepared.

This evening and night Tempest stared at the notes he had taken once when Ornstein had told him about the lord souls and realized how useless they were. Sighing, he laid himself into bed and tried to get to sleep, a need that he didn't had anymore but could still act on if he tried.

The next day Tempest woke up and realized that he had overslept! He had really fallen asleep and apparently his body or mind or both had cherished the break and so Anor Londo had already got tinted into its eternal twilight, indicating that the next day had started.

Tempest hurried into the kitchen to see that Ornstein had eaten the rest of the soup. With a glance to the stove he noticed that it was cold and questioned how Ornstein had heated it up or if he had eaten it cold, but nonetheless, Ornstein probably was already waiting for him at the bonfire.

That was exactly where Tempest found the dragon slayer, who tapped his foot and scolded him: "You are late."

"I am sorry!", Tempest said. "I overslept."

"Apparently.", Ornstein said.

"So, for the next lord soul, we have to go back to Blighttown because that is where the way to Lost Izalith is... I think.", Tempest said, unfolding some notes. What he couldn't see was how Ornstein screwed up his face on the mere mention of Blighttown.

"Weren't you talking about taking care of the black knights when we were in the tomb?", he said.

Tempest looked from his notes to Ornstein, then to his notes again and then blurted out: "Really?! You mean we can do this?!"

"They once have been part of Lord Gwyn's army... as their captain, I owe their souls to bring them peace.", Ornstein said. Of course Ornstein simply didn't want to get to Blighttown and any delay to visit this place was a good delay in his opinion. "So, where have you seen the black knights wandering around?"

"The first one was in the Undead burg.", Tempest said. "And the second one was in the Undead Parish... I guess... the easiest way is from the sunlight altar bonfire... Oh!" Tempest's face lit up. "We should totally go to the sunlight altar!"

Before Ornstein could ask why or what had Tempest so excited, he felt how the little Undead took his hand and the familiar feeling of getting dragged through the fabric of space and time as well as the familiar nausea hit Ornstein.

As he opened his eyes again, nausea in his stomach settling down, it almost returned when he saw what Tempest had meant with sunlight altar when his eyes fell on the broken statue of... him.

Tempest hadn't noticed that Ornstein hadn't followed him and turned around, dodging a row of bolts that got shot at him from the hollows outside, stepping at the dragon slayer's side. "Ornstein, what's wrong?", he asked.

"You see this?", Ornstein pointed at the broken statue and Tempest nodded. "Notice anything about it?"

"Hm... let's see...", Tempest approached the statue and observed it closely. At first he couldn't find anything conspicuous but then he noticed: "It's wearing your weapon! Ornstein, is that a statue of yourself? But... why is it here and broken...?"

"It isn't my statue.", Ornstein said. "You have seen mine fully intact in Anor Londo. This one... is the statue of Lord Gwyn's firstborn."

Tempest gasped as he stared at Ornstein and then let his gaze wander at the statue. "The legends...", he said. "It isn't written anywhere but my mom once told me that he was banished for his crimes, but... nobody knew what it was anymore. Or his name..."

"Little Storm, this is a tale that has been forbidden to tell in Anor Londo and the entirety of Lordran for centuries, but... I think you deserve to learn the truth."

Ornstein took a deep breath before he started to speak again: "The firstborn of Lord Gwyn, also known as the firstborn of the sun, was not only my master and I wasn't only his first knight, but we also had been in a relationship."

Tempest needed a second but once he realized what Ornstein had said, he jumped up in surprise and screamed: "Wait, what, really?!"

"Yes, it is the truth.", Ornstein continued. "We were not only slaying countless dragons together, we also spent countless nights together, but our relationship was secret from almost everybody, because Lord Gwyn wanted his son to marry an influential goddess."

"Let me guess, this marriage never happened?", Tempest said. He was sure if the Sunfirstborn would have married, his romance loving mother would have told him everything about this story.

"Yes. Because my master went traitor and sided himself with the dragons, our very mortal enemy. Back then... back then I barely could believe that it happened. He was banished and he broke my heart. Lord Gwyn smashed his statue and it was tossed into the human settlements... the first few days after his departure I spend a lot of time near it, doings things I am not proud about, like screaming at it, crying over it, kicking it, defiling it..."

"Defiling it?!", Tempest chimed in.

"I said I was not proud of it.", Ornstein growled. "Besides, I had been pretty drunk back then..."

He sighed and collected his thoughts: "Where where we? Ah yes. But now, after all these years, I have the feeling I understand him a little better. I... want to search for him once this is all over. And Gwyndolin gave me their permission."

In Tempest's chest there was a sting. He knew it. He knew that Ornstein would never fall for him. With his latest partner out of his life, he was seeking comfort in an earlier partner he wished to make up with. He wasn't seeking comfort in the Undead that had been pushed on him.

Even though Tempest knew their feelings weren't mutual, it still hurt and so he didn't answer anything but simply stared at the ground, trying to hide tears that wanted to form at this realization.

After Ornstein had finished his story, the little Storm had grown uncharacteristically quiet and when Ornstein turned his head to look at him he felt a churn at his chest. He looked so... lost. Sad even. As if Ornstein had said something bad. And Ornstein couldn't help but feel pity for him. He...he didn't want for the cheerful little Storm to look like this.

Damn, he really had get attached.

"But... don't worry, I will stay at your side until your mission is over.", Ornstein quickly said as if trying to take the heaviness of his words out of them. "Didn't you want to show me something here?"

Tempest looked up as Ornstein spoke. While he knew that Ornstein was out of his reach, he still was happy that the dragon slayer would spend time with him. Tempest made the decision that this would be enough. He raised his hands to wipe away some tears that had started to glisten in his eyes and then gave Ornstein his usual jolly grin, only that it wasn't reaching his eyes this time, something that Ornstein noticed.

"I brought you here, because...", Tempest said and took Ornstein's hand, failing to drag him and Ornstein finally followed him with a sigh as he nearly fell over, "I wanted to see you in action.", he concluded as Ornstein had to grab the little Storm and jumped away from the flaming breath of death that got unleashed by the drake, toasting everything on the bridge before landing on top of the roof of the sunlight altar.

"By the lords, little Storm, a little warning would have been nice!", Ornstein said, glancing outside, wrinkling his nose as the stench of burned corpses hit his nose.

Which took him right back to the dragon war and Ornstein fell on his knees as he saw the pictures in his head, all the comrades that had died, hadn't been able to escape the dragon fire and then there had be him, he had survived, he didn't thought he would survive, he thought he would die, every single time but he had always survived... only him, why only him...

"Ornstein, what is wrong?", Tempest said as he tried to get the dragon slayer on his feet and failed spectacularly. Then he remembered what Ornstein once had said to him. Why he was a bad cook. It was... because fire bothered him. It made him have bad reactions.

"...Ornstein, I am so sorry...", Tempest said. "I shouldn't have you brought here... let's go back..." Tempest took Ornstein's hand again and tried to drag him to the bonfire but Ornstein raised his hand and gave Tempest a gesture to not interfere.

"It is about time that the dragon slayer is taking care of his duties again.", he said, getting up, straightening himself and picking up his spear. "You stay back, little Storm."

As Ornstein strode towards the door, the uneasy feeling in his chest hadn't left. But... he didn't exactly knew why, but he didn't want to see the little Storm like this. Pitying him.

He had killed the little Storm a few dozen times and he still had come back, over and over and over again and what was Ornstein doing? Cowering on the ground because of a mere drake? He had taken down foes that had been larger than hat.

No, the person who strode through the gate wasn't Ornstein, but the dragon slayer. He turned around, raised his spear with both hands and hissed: "Come at me, beast."

The drake apparently wasn't interested in leaving its save place and breathed in. Ornstein, knowing what came, jumped straight into the air, landing right next to the resting place of the drake and wasted no time piercing its eye with his spear.

When the fire had died down and Tempest heard the drake shriek, he dared to leave the cover of the sunlight altar and gasped when he saw the drake flying off, or trying to, because Ornstein was riding on its back and prepared his spear.

Once it had fully been engulfed with lightning, Ornstein bore the spear deep into the drake's neck which shrieked again, in pain and fear before it tumbled down and landed on the bridge with a heavy thud, Ornstein elegantly jumping down from his back.

"That was... AWESOME!", Tempest cheered, jumping up and down. "You looked so elegant, Ornstein."

"People didn't call me the dragon slayer for no reason.", Ornstein said, holding his spear so that the shaft hit the ground and the blade showed upwards. "But I sure hope you don't have any drake surprises for me anymore."

"At least not where I have been.", Tempest said. "Ornstein, I want to apologize again. I didn't think this through..."

"Actually, I should have expected this.", Ornstein said. "It just had been a good while since you told Gwyndolin your journey, so it slipped my mind that you left a drake alive. Anyway, it can't bother you or anyone else anymore." He glanced at the hollows on the bridge. "Of course they will come back once the bonfire revived them."

Tempest didn't listen anymore but instead was examining the drake corpse. After he had circled it a few times, he used his sword to cut through it, hot blood seeping out of the corpse.

"What are you doing?", Ornstein said, taken aback. "It doesn't get any deader."

"Oh no, I wanted to get some meat from it.", Tempest grinned. "I never cooked drake. Most of them were extinct when I was born." He looked over to Ornstein. "You probably played a part in it."

"I did...", Ornstein said, thinking back to their conversation earlier at the broken statue of his master. Back then he had called himself dragon slayer, but now, he had gotten aware that what they had done was pretty much genocide.

Ornstein shuddered at the thought. He asked himself if his master would ever forgive him as he watched the little Storm and was surprised when he felt a certain warmth in him at this action.

Once Tempest had cut out enough meat that he brought to his bottomless box at the bonfire, he walked to Ornstein who had leaned against the wall lost in his own thoughts.

"Actually, the first black knight I wanted to take care off is watching over this bridge from a tower that can be reached through the sunlight altar.", he said, snapping Ornstein out of his thoughts. Right, they wanted to take care of the black knights. All to avoid going to Blighttown as long as possible. At least it was the reason for Ornstein.

"Right, then lead the way...", Ornstein said, adjusting his helmet.

Tempest led him back through the sunlight altar and up a few stairs. Once they had climbed them, Tempest pressed himself against the wall, pointing at a black knight with a two handed sword (which they wielded with one hand) who had their back to them.

"Mostly offense, minimal defense.", Ornstein whispered. "But this one gives you a good opportunity for a first strike. Try it. I come after you."

Tempest nodded and snuck up behind the black knight, preparing his sword and stumbling right before he could stab it into their back, alarming the black knight who turned around and used their massive sword to make Tempest flying.

"Damn.", Ornstein cursed as he heard the little Storm land with a thud and a yowl, indicating how much that must have hurt and countered the next sword strike with his own spear, feeling how he got pushed back by sheer force. "How about picking a fight with someone your size?", he said mockingly, even though he was aware that the black knight's mind long had been gone.

While Ornstein fought against the sheer pressure of the black knight's great sword, Tempest had managed to bring his Estus to his lips and healed himself up, getting up and pierced his sword in length through the black knight's back, finding the joints in their armour. Like usual, the black knight didn't bleed but instead a black mass emerged from the wound before it fell over and disappeared with an unholy scream.

"They have been long gone.", Ornstein said, as Tempest stood there, panting. "Whatever happened to them when they followed Lord Gwyn, it made them go hollow..."

"Can gods even go hollow?", Tempest asked as he leaned down to pick up what the black knight had left.

"Not like you humans.", Ornstein said. "So not because of the dark sign. But it is possible. Through trauma for example. It... didn't happen often. To see so many black knights like this is worrying..."

Of course Ornstein knew the cause of their trauma. It was because they had burned in the kiln. The fate that Tempest awaited too... he just didn't want to tell the little Storm the truth. If he knew, he might bail. But.. thinking about it, thinking that the little Storm would burn, made Ornstein's throat go dry and he himself had a hollow feeling in his chest.

"One.", Tempest said. "There are two more. The next is in the Undead Burg, not far from here."

"Lead the way, little Storm.", Ornstein said, having been ripped out of his thoughts. He needed to stop thinking about this. This only was another mission to fulfil. After the little Storm had linked the flame, he was free to go. He should concentrate on this.

The way to the Undead Burg was uneventful, just a few hollows were in their way which Tempest managed to take down on his own without trouble. Once they had gone down a few stairs, Tempest pointed at the black knight at the far end of a narrow way, one with a sword and a shield.

"Remember your parry training?", Ornstein said and Tempest nodded. "It works on them as well as on the silver knights."

In fact, most of the black knights had once been silver knights until they had decided to take up the battle against the demons and picked up bigger weapons and an armour that was more resilient against heat.

Tempest tiptoed to the black knight but they seemed to hear extremely good, even for beings that weren't physical anymore and this one turned around and lifted their sword. Tempest reacted wonderful and parried the blow with his shield carrying on with a riposte.

"Good.", Ornstein whispered, but as Tempest turned his head to give him a smile Ornstein noticed that the black knight had pulled themselves together and shouted: "Watch out!"

Tempest only had enough time to turn his head, raise his shield in a desperate attempt to catch the incoming blow, got staggered by the poor force and sliced open with the continued attack of the black knight.

"Shit.", Ornstein growled, jumping in and piercing the black knight with his spear while Tempest was searching for his Estus and took a large sip to heal the inflicted wound.

"Thank you, Ornstein, that was close.", Tempest said, scratching the ground with his foot in embarrassment.

"Black knights are more sturdy than silver knights. You should already know that.", Ornstein scolded Tempest which only made his face blush even more.

Sighing, Ornstein ran a hand through his ponytail and asked: "So, where is the last one?"

"Oh, I saw them at the Dark Root Basin. Where the Hydra is.", Tempest said. "Hm, maybe we can take care of the Hydra too when we are already there..."

"Good idea. It has gotten quite fat.", Ornstein said, deliberately leaving out the fact that he was partially responsible for its large body by feeding it his leftovers more than once.

Tempest seemed to take into consideration that Ornstein was uncomfortable with teleportation and led him back to the Undead Parish. He had been diligent and opened up quite a few shortcuts so that they only had to fight a few hollows. And a leftover boar which Tempest helped taking down with his pyromancy.

As they had arrived at the church and Ornstein already took the turn that would lead them to the garden, Tempest gasped and ran forwards, shouting: "Rhea!"

In fact, the small cleric woman was sitting there, praying in front of the statue of whichever goddess had been worshipped here. Ornstein came closer to listen into the conversation of the two Undead.

"So you have made it out of the Tomb?", Tempest asked.

The cleric gasped at the sudden visitor and started to speak: "Hello… I will never forget what you did. I am deeply indebted, for it was not within my power to save Vince or Nico. I cannot thank you enough."

She sighed and stared back at the statue of the goddess before continuing: "I only wish there were some way I could help you, but I am inexperienced, and I only know the art of Miracles.  
If that could be of any help, speak to me again."

All the while the woman spoke Tempest nodded along to her words and then took up the word himself: "It is good to see that you made it out of the tomb. I will certainly remember your offer." He went quiet for a little while before asking: "So, why are you hanging around here and not at Fire Link Shrine?"

"The bonfire down there is so crowded...", Rhea answered. "I prefer the solitude of this place. Here I can pray in peace. Vereor Nox."

"Vereor Nox.", Tempest reciprocated the prayer before turning around and walking straight to the elevators that would lead back to Firelink Shrine.

"The garden is there.", Ornstein said, a tiny bit annoyed, pointing to the right, to the door outside.

"I just wanted to make a quick stop at Fire Link Shrine, please?", Tempest worded it more as a question but ignored anything that Ornstein had to say by stepping on the elevator, making the dragon slayer hurry to follow him. "I want to strengthen my pyromancy flame and take a quick look around before we move on."

"Fine.", Ornstein said as the elevator rode down. At least that meant that he cold avoid Blighttown a little while longer.

Once they had arrived, Tempest spotted the cleric with the bowl cut, Petrus was his name, Ornstein thought and shouted: "Hey Petrus, did you know that Rhea is safe?"

After hearing this, Petrus turned his attention to Tempest and mumbled: "…Oh, it's you…  
…You rescued M'lady? Well, a pity that is, for it will amount to nothing. For the little madam is not worth her salt without her family name. Keh heh heh heh…"

As Tempest still frowned at his words, Ornstein casually walked next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, gently pushing him forwards. When they were out of earshot, he said: "See him showing his true colours now?"

"I... I guess...", Tempest said, clearly unhappy with Petrus response and Ornstein's reaction.

"That girl isn't safe. He will take the first opportunity to kill her, rob her of everything she have and then let her to hollow out.", Ornstein said. "But... the fate of the Undead aren't my business. It's your choice what to do, little Storm."

Tempest grew quiet and glanced at Petrus and then back to Ornstein. "I... could give Rhea a warning."

"She hardly looks like the type of person who can defend herself.", Ornstein said, shrugging. Tempest had a far too good nature and was far too gullible for his own good.

In a sense, he even had made Ornstein break out of his shell even though the dragon slayer would never admit it.

Tempest's next stop was Laurentius the Pyromancer who he asked to strengthen his pyromancy flame. It must have been rather strong in the meantime, Ornstein could not only see how quite a few souls changed their owner but also how much more it glowed.

Once Tempest was done and said his goodbye to Laurentius, he stepped through the broken arch and stopped, staring at the spot where the sorcerer apprentice once had stood.

"Griggs is gone.", he said.

"Didn't he want to catch up with his Master?", Ornstein said. "He probably went to Anor Londo."

"I guess...", Tempest said and took a turn to reach the bonfire. Nobody was around it.

"Neither Siegmeyer nor Sieglinde are here...", he said.

"I don't know Siegmeyer but I wouldn't worry that much about Sieglinde. Whoevers comes here and manages to survive while not being Undead would be fit to be a silver knight. Or more."

"It's more Siegmeyer I worry about.", Tempest said. "Whenever I found him he was in trouble, I already told you that."

Tempest grew silent after this and ascended the few steps that led to Kingseeker Frampt. The primordial serpent was fast asleep and snored, in fact he snored so loud that it was heard through the whole shrine.

"Hm, I guess I let him sleep.", Tempest said. "You can probably tell me more about the lord souls anyway."

"...", Ornstein somehow managed to make his speechlessness audible. He knew that Frampt was telling a lie. He knew that the Chosen Undead was told that he would replace Lord Gwyn and stop the curse of the Undead once and for all.

The only thing that was true about this was that he would replace Lord Gwyn. As sacrifice, not as king.

Ornstein felt the familiar hollow feeling in his chest. Was he hollowing out? He didn't thought it was his time already...

"Wait a minute...", Tempest squinted a squatting person on the other end of the pool and then gasped, running over to them.

"Patches! Are you here to kick me down a ledge again?!", he yelled.

"Oh, we meet again. How many of you are there?", Patches asked casually.

„Just me and Ornstein.", Tempest said.

„And you better don't pull anything with the little Storm because I won't refrain kicking you down the ledge of Fire Link Shrine.", Ornstein commented.

„Oh relax, no more funny business out of me, my friends!", Patches said in a placating manner. I'm done with looting. I'm a humble merchant now! And wondrous treasures, have I! At a special price for you."

He put a few items in front of him. „There you are, have a nice look at them."

„I will keep an eye on him just in case...", Ornstein said to Tempest as the small Undead browsed the wares.

A short while later a few souls changed their owner and Tempest had a shiny new humanity in his hands. Ornstein heard him chat with Patches a little longer. Apparently the bald men had quite a few opinions about the other Undead around. Ornstein wasn't too interested in them, his goal was to get Tempest to the flame. But he listened attentively once Patches talked about Petrus and pretty much confirmed his doubts about the man.

As Tempest said his goodbyes and wanted to turn back into the direction of the bonfire, Ornstein stopped him.

"What is it?", Tempest asked. "The garden was our next step, remember?"

"Remember the Asylum?", Ornstein said.

Tempest eyes grew wide at this and he nodded excitedly.

"Then follow me.", Ornstein stepped near one of the pillars and judged its height. Then, he put Tempest up (who complained about being manhandled for a second before he grew silent) and jumped up the pillar. He continued to jump from the pillar to the walls until he was at a broken tower where stairs led up, where he put Tempest down.

"Do you see the crow there?", Ornstein pointed at the rather hard to overlook crow on the wall next to Frampt's pool.

"How could I overlook it? It is the very same that carried me here.", Tempest said.

"You can trick it to carry you back to the Asylum by laying in its nest.", Ornstein said.

"...How did anyone ever found that out?", Tempest wondered and ascended the stairs. As he was halfway up, he stopped and stared at something on a roof.

"I think I see something shiny there.", he pointed to it but before he could act and storm off, Ornstein had pulled him back.

"I get it.", he said and jumped over to the roof without effort. After a little bit of searching he found a key that the sun had reflected light off, this must have been how the little Storm had spotted it in the first place.

He jumped back to Tempest and handed him the key. "Here you go, little Storm."

"Thank you, Ornstein.", Tempest said, eyeing the key. "I wonder where it fits?"

"To be honest, looks like a key from the Asylum.", Ornstein pointed on the hard to make out letters which read A F2. "I am surprised we can still see them, with how rusted it is..."

"Well, let's just try the key once we are there.", Tempest smiled, pocketing it.

Once they were at the nest Tempest stared at Ornstein with big eyes.

"The crow actually only carries one person at a time, so I show you what to do and you come after me.", Ornstein sad and then curled into a ball in the nest, hearing Tempest chuckle. "Don't laugh.", he hissed.

"Oh, it's just... I didn't think... that I would see you... do.. something that... ridiculous.", Tempest brought out between snorts which quickly turned into a surprised "Woah!" when Ornstein felt how the crow picked him up and he got carried over.

Ten minutes later the little Storm got dropped off next to him, picking himself up.

"Huh.", he said. "The last time I have been here there were less torch hollows."

"Seems like we have to fight our way through to find your friend.", Ornstein said, readying his spear.


	21. Chapter 21

Summary: Ornstein and Tempest are visiting the Undead Asylum where Tempest hopes to find an old friend.

(Author's note: Honestly, I was thinking a short area like the asylum would be shorter, but I still managed to pump out around 5k words. Ornstein and Tempest are talking too much ^^)

"Are you alright with fighting these guys? They use fire...", Tempest said, how Ornstein had reacted to the wyvern breathing fire was still embedded into his mind.

"They would have wished they hadn't lighted this torches.", Ornstein said and Tempest could hear the telltale sizzling of the dragon slayer spear getting charged up. Tempest decided to put his own sword in both of his hands and as Ornstein stormed up to impale the first torch hollow, he ran behind him and stabbed the second of them through the chest.

As they still were busied with pulling their weapons out the other two torch hollows had noticed them and started to shuffle to their position. As one was jumping towards Ornstein, Tempest threw himself between the hollow and the dragon slayer, blocking the blow with his sword, a low hiss coming out when he felt the burning sensation around his shoulder. "Oh no, you won't.", he yelled and slashed his sword right through the torch hollow who soon collapsed in a pool of its own blood. As Tempest still stood there panting from the adrenaline rush, Ornstein had stabbed his spear through the fourth one.

"That should have been all.", he said. "Let's move on."

"Ah, wait Ornstein.", Tempest said and tried to catch up to the big strides of the dragon slayer with his short legs, though he got distracted when he spotted something at the edge of the cliff. "Huh, is that a crow nest? Is this how we come back?"

Ornstein turned his head and once he saw the crow nest, he shook it. "This is far too small. That crow won't be able to carry you. But try going nearer."

Tempest crept nearer to the nest, holding his sword just in front of his chest and nearly jumped in surprise when he heard a caw and a voice, prompting him to give them something warm. Or soft.

"What is the meaning of this?", he asked Ornstein.

"Crows like to collect things. And some of them are willing to trade stuff they don't want in exchange for something they do want. So do you have anything soft or warm with you?", Ornstein explained.

"Hmmm..", Tempest rummaged through his bag until he found something suitable. "Ah, that should do. It is soft. And once has been warm."

He saw Ornstein wince as he dropped the dung pie into the nest. "Why are you carrying this around with you?!", the dragon slayer yelled.

"Huh? I found it in Blighttown.", Tempest asked, not aware that this wasn't the problem.

"That makes it even WORSE!", Ornstein said and turned his back to Tempest, murmuring something like "Wash your hands before you even think about touching me again."

While the crow was busy picking up the item or more they didn't seem to want to pick it up while they watched, Tempest washed his hands in the snow around the asylum and when he put his attention back to the crow's nest, there was a new thing lying there. He picked it up.

"It's a demon titanite.", Ornstein said. "It's used to strengthen special weapons. Like mine."

"Do you want it then?", Tempest asked, already dropping the material into Ornstein's hands.

"No, keep it. My weapon doesn't need improvement anymore.", Ornstein said, giving the item back to Tempest. "Besides, maybe you want to transform one of these souls you must have. Then you need the titanite."

"I didn't plan to.", Tempest said. "But good to know where I can get it should the need arise."

"You can also get it from the titanite demons.", Ornstein said. "That big, headless ones with the long pole weapon. Like we fought in the catacombs."

"...That was the only one of them that I fought.", Tempest admitted.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Let's just move on, alright, Ornstein?", Tempest's face felt a bit flushed. He had of course tried to fight these big demons, but after the tenth death or so had decided that it wasn't worth it and had just ran.

Once they had arrived at the large door that once had marked the beginning of Tempest's journey into Lordran, Tempest strode through it and said: "That's were it all began. This is where I fought this big demon. I didn't really had a clue what to do at first and not even a weapon and after I got brutally smashed I noticed there was a door I could leave to and..."

Tempest stopped when he saw a few hollows in this room. "This is new.", he said and drew his sword. "However, I can take care of this hollows just fine."

And with that, Tempest stormed forwards and yelped when he felt the ground under his feet crumble, the gravity of the situation not only dawned on his mind but also on his body as he felt himself fall a rather long distance and landed on the ground, hearing a sickening crunch and feeling a sharp pain in his leg.

Only a few seconds later he heard Ornstein landing next to him with a metallic clunk, but he was too distracted by the giant demon in front of him to properly react.

"A... another one?", he gasped out and searched for his Estus flask, before he could even think about fighting this thing he had to heal the broken leg.

"This only happened because you had to storm off again.", Ornstein hissed and Tempest felt himself lifted off the ground and getting brought into safety from being crushed by a giant wooden staff. After Tempest had recovered from the shock, he lifted his hand to take a sip from the Estus only to realize that it was gone.

"Where's my Estus?", he yelled, in a half panic. Without this thing he was screwed. Especially because the fall had pretty much rendered him unable to even move.

"Don't panic.", Ornstein hissed, hiding behind a pillar, scanning the room. "There, it fell down a few meters from here."

"Great, can you bring me near it, I kind of need it to heal my leg.", Tempest said, holding on to Ornstein, who had shouldered him over his left, his spear ready in his right.

"I try.", Ornstein said, jumping to the left as the demon swung downwards, "but...", he jumped to the right and narrowly avoided another hit. "That isn't so easy when this guy tries to kill us!" He ducked as a wave of fiery hot magic flew over their head.

"It can use magic?", Tempest cried. "The other one couldn't do that!"

"See that weapon it wields? It is also a catalyst.", Ornstein said. He had managed to jump behind the demon, but he gasped as he saw it holding the staff in front of it and jumped back just in time as an explosion engulfed the demon. "With you in my arms I am not fast enough to get the flask.", he said. "I need to set you down."

"Oh dear...", Tempest said, feeling not very secure about getting left alone with a leg that wouldn't carry him and no Estus to heal his wounds.

"There isn't another choice.", Ornstein said and put Tempest down near a pillar, out of sight of the demon. Before Tempest could say anything, the dragon slayer had zigzagged back to the demon. Tempest watched how Ornstein tried to confuse the demon but got distracted by a sharp pain in his back.

When he turned around, he had to notice that one of the hollows had fallen down with them and just used its sword to slash open Tempest's back.

"As if the leg didn't hurt enough...", Tempest winced and blocked the next blow with his shield before picking up his own sword and thrusting it right through the hollow's chest, seeing it collapse next to the pillar.

He was lucky that it only had been a hollow. Another more well trained enemy would have made short work of him.

"Damn, this hurts...", Tempest groaned, feeling how blood seeped out of his back. "What is Ornstein doing?"

Ornstein, in the meantime, did his best to avoid the constant magic attacks of the demon and tried to get it to move its fat ass away from the Estus. He just needed an opening, a tiny little opening so that he could grab it and toss it to Tempest.

Luckily, his opening came as the demon suddenly grunted and rubbed its head. Ornstein didn't waste any time to collect the Estus from the floor and toss it to Tempest who he could see sitting there with his bow drawn, aiming at the demon.

Ornstein smiled under his helmet. The little Storm had become competent.

With both of his hands busy holding the bow, Tempest couldn't react to actually catch the Estus and so it clanked against his helmet, which led a little "Ow" escape him. He was glad that this thing was made out of emerald glass or otherwise it would have easily shattered while falling.

Tempest didn't waste anymore time to uncork the flask and took a few sips from it, feeling how his broken leg mended and the cut in his back vanished along with the pain. He took a deep breath and scrambled on his feet.

"I am coming, Ornstein!", he yelled, put his sword in both hands and stormed right at the demon.

"Idiot!", Ornstein hissed and jumped on Tempest rolling with him on the ground for a bit narrowly evading a shock wave. "Did you forget it can use magic?!"

"Sorry...", Tempest said, getting up and rolling away right as the next smash of the demon crashed on the floor.

"Try to get behind it. These demons are usually not very smart.", Ornstein had been on his feet again in an instant and stabbed the demon in the rear which roared with pain and annoyance.

"On it.", Tempest said and joined Ornstein, giving the demon another nice wound in its butt.

Tempest expected the demon to turn around and crush them but instead it lifted its heavy catalyst. "Huh, what is it doing?", Tempest whispered to Ornstein. "We aren't in front of it."

Ornstein had froze and as Tempest wanted to nudge him to see if he was still there, Ornstein whispered back: "Little Storm, run." Only a second later an explosion engulfed the demon and when Ornstein hadn't warned him Tempest would have been in the centre of the explosion.

"Woah.", Tempest said. "It apparently isn't that dumb after all."

He didn't knew if Ornstein had heard him because the dragon slayer had rushed forwards and stabbed the demon into the rear again. And it tried the same attack as earlier. "Or it is...", Tempest said, getting up and joining Ornstein in the "strategy".

"So are we just going to attack its butt until it bleeds out?", Tempest asked as they hid once again from the explosion.

"You see the thick skin this demon has? You have to wear these kind out until they collapse and then you can deal the finish blow."

Tempest nodded, that kind of made sense. He had beaten the Asylum Demon in a similar kind, though that one had been FAR weaker than the demon they faced at the moment. Tempest sometimes had the feeling his weapon barely could damage the rough skin.

And then the demon broke the cycle. It apparently had recognized that the tactic didn't do anything and so it jumped and tried to crush them with its big rear. Tempest winced as he heard the demon crush, considering all the wounds they had give the demon that must have hurt. A lot.

"Still not the smartest one.", Ornstein mumbled as the demon roared in pain from the action. "Little Storm, attack its left leg, I attack its right and once it falls we can deal the finishing blow."

"Got it.", Tempest said and once Ornstein had counted to three they stroke at the same time, both of their blades leaving a nasty gash in the demon's legs.

That was enough for the demon to fall over and give Ornstein the opportunity to blow its head into bits with a fully charged dragon slayer spear.

"Ugh, I shouldn't have done that.", Ornstein said as unavoidable some blood and gore landed on his armour. Tempest waited behind a pillar until the shower of blood was over and then came out.

"Alright, why was there another one?", he asked. "And why was it so hidden?"

"See all the bones we are standing on?", Ornstein pointed down. "It probably was used for executions before this place became the Undead Asylum. And it simply still was there."

Tempest stared down and jumped once he saw that they indeed stood on a pile of bones. "Argh, I haven't even noticed...", he jumped off the pile and scraped his feet on the floor as if trying to get some dirt off.

"Don't you want to look if there is something useful in there?", Ornstein pointed at the corpse of the demon.

"I don't know... I don't want to touch it.", Tempest flatly said but that problem got solved when a few items just fell on the ground. Tempest walked over to pick them up. "A humanity, a homeward bone and a titanite slab.", he said. "No soul."

"Demon's don't have souls.", Ornstein explained. "There is a reason why they are here and it isn't a good one. It has to do with Lost Izalith."

"Oh yes, where we wanted to go next.", Tempest's eye sparkled at the thought of finding out more mysteries about Lordran. Luckily Ornstein was with him or it would be really hard to recollect all the tales he had heard and find out what happened himself. "So how do we get out of here?"

Ornstein pointed at a ladder and Tempest's hand flew to his face. "We could have left all this time?!"

"I don't think the stray demon here would have left us.", Ornstein said and ascended the ladder.

"I guess...", Tempest said and followed Ornstein up the ladder involuntarily staring at the dragon slayer's rear in front of him. Even in armour it was most certainly more attractive than that of the demon. Tempest quickly averted his gaze as he felt the familiar tingling in his nose and could just so avoid the nosebleed.

As Ornstein reached the end of the ladder, he dropped off a small ledge. Once Tempest had caught up to him, the dragon slayer asked: "Which way out?"

They were in a long narrow hallway which Tempest had the feeling he remembered. "Oh, this is the hallway to my old cell!", he excitedly said. "Is it fine when I take a quick look?"

"I don't have a clue why you want to reminiscent in such a place but go on.", Ornstein said. Tempest turned left and stopped. A short while later he glanced through some binoculars.

"There is a black knight. With a regular sword.", he murmured. "Though even their regular swords are looking really big and heavy..."

"What is a black knight doing here?", Ornstein asked and turned his attention to the left, he had intended to wait while Tempest went into the cell alone. After all, he wasn't needed there.

Tempest only shrugged at Ornstein but the sparkle in his eyes told Ornstein that he was eager to try on the black knight. "Alright, alright, I'll help.", Ornstein sighed. "Don't forget the art of parrying."

"I will try my best.", Tempest said and snuck towards the black knight which did nothing because the little Undead was in plain sight. The black knight moved and thrust its sword towards Tempest once he had done only a few step. Tempest managed to avoid with a hasty backwards roll.

"They surely are aggressive...", he murmured.

"These were some of Gwyn's elite knights, of course they are.", Ornstein said. "Or they would have never been able to pick up the fight against the demons."

All while Ornstein had talked Tempest had managed to block three strikes of the black knight with his shield and he recognized a pattern. The next time the sword came down he parried the blow and dug his sword deep into the black knight. Ornstein stepped behind the black knight and once it had pulled itself up, his spear bored through the back and it soon faded with that unholy scream.

"Hey!", Tempest said, picking off something of the ground. "It left the sword behind!"

"I doubt you will be able to use it.", Ornstein said at Tempest. "They were made specifically for large warriors and not for small fries like you."

"Hey.", Tempest said again, but then grinned at Ornstein. "Don't forget that this small fry managed to beat you."

Ornstein gave Tempest a glare and a low: "Too soon." before stepping into the cell, taking a look around. "So, this is where you have spent the last few years? At least there is some light shining in."

"I don't know if it were years, but certainly a long enough time to make me nearly hollow out.", Tempest groaned, sitting in the corner in which he always would had sit. "Feels strange..."

He got up again and pace through the cell. "There wasn't much room in here. And I hadn't a weapon, only a sword hilt. Don't even know from where, I pretty much woke up with it in here."

Ornstein had leaned against the wall and stared up. "There is a hole in the ceiling."

"Yeah, but the walls were too steep to climb.", Tempest said and his face fell a bit. "That is where the knight tossed me the key... without him I would have rotted in this cell..."

"Then let's not waste any time and find him.", Ornstein said and turned around to leave the cell. Tempest hurried to follow him but tripped over something and fell.

"Oh, ow.", he groaned. "What was that?" Tempest picked up the thing which had made him trip and said: "A doll?"

"What is a doll doing in your old cell?", Ornstein asked, turning around but once he saw the doll he gasped. "I can't believe it..."

"Can't believe what?", Tempest stared at Ornstein with big eyes.

"That doll... how does it even get here? Yet alone in your old cell...", Ornstein bend down to give the doll in Tempest's hands a closer look. "I am certain about it... We need to go back to Anor Londo."

"Now?!", Tempest yelled out.

"No, not now.", Ornstein sighed. "But soon. I have... business there. You don't have to come with me, that is my own matter."

"Ornstein, we have gone everywhere together now, of course I will come with you.", Tempest said. "Besides, I want to know the secret of this doll."

"It isn't a happy secret...", Ornstein said with a deep sigh. "Come, let's find your knight friend."

"Alright.", Tempest said, slowly walking out of the cell. "Hm, let me think... where have I last seen him..."

Ornstein followed Tempest quietly as he walked down the hallway and climbed the latter and then sat down at the bonfire, filling up his Estus.

"Ah, I know.", Tempest shot up and ran to the room of the Asylum Demon, Ornstein following him closely. "When I fought the first demon I could run down a path to get away.", he said and pointed to the left where the door still was. "Back then the grid shut down, but now it is open again, even though I don't have a clue why."

As Tempest proceeded to run towards the door, he heard a groan behind him and shot around just in time to block a hit from one of the hollows. "Totally forgot about these guys...", he said as he slashed his sword through its chest only now noticing that Ornstein was missing.

"Ornstein?", he asked, scanning the room.

"I am here.", Ornstein came into view from behind a pillar. "I thought you might forget about the hollows so I took care of one of them." The tip of his spear was in fact covered in blood.

"...", Tempest somehow managed to make his speechlessness audible. "Let's... let's just move.", he said and went through the door.

"There is another bonfire here.", Ornstein pointed out.

"Yeah, but I doubt we will need it.", Tempest said as he walked forwards, his head turned to Ornstein. He regretted his words when he felt a sharp pain through his chest and woke up at the bonfire in front of the large gates.

"What the...", Tempest got up and hurried back to the room of the Asylum Demon, taking an unnecessary hit from one of the hollows which he healed with a sip of Estus real quick before finding Ornstein locked in a battle with another black knight.

"Oh, there you are, little Storm, I kept it in check for you.", Ornstein said and his voice sounded strangely cheerful.

"Why didn't you just kill it?", Tempest groaned.

"I hadn't sparred with a black knight in some time.", Ornstein's spear parried a blow of the black knight's sword. "I guess I was feeling nostalgic. Even though normally the black knight's didn't try to kill me."

"You just want for me to get the job done...", Tempest sighed.

"Exactly.", Ornstein said and Tempest knew that he had this grin on his face. Ornstein thrust his spear which the black knight blocked with its shield and jumped back, making room for Tempest. "Remember your training.", he said.

And Tempest did remember. Having to fight all this hours against Ornstein he asked himself why he ever had struggled with the black knights, why he was so afraid of them. His shield effortlessly bashed the weapon of the knight away and his sword found its way deep into the black knight's chest... in an ideal world it would have been, but because of Tempest's small size it went more through its crotch, which made him cringe a little bit.

Once the black knight had fallen Tempest danced behind it and the moment it had picked itself up on its feet his sword found the back... the rear... of the black knight and in the next moment the black knight puffed into smoke.

"That was fantastic, little Storm.", Ornstein gave a tiny applause why Tempest stared at his sword. "Very elegant."

"It... it would have looked more elegant when I would have been bigger...", he said. "I mean, that must have hurt."

"They aren't made of flesh anyway anymore.", Ornstein said. "I doubt it hurt them very much."

"The thought certainly hurt me.", Tempest said, putting his sword back but changed his mind and drew it again as he moved on.

"So when I was here first there wasn't a black knight but an archer and I was lucky to find a shield in this broken cell to the left.", Tempest told. "And luckily I found a weapon near the shield, so that I could finally properly fight."

"I doubt that you could properly fight, you probably just slashed your way through while running away screaming.", Ornstein said.

"I hate how true this statement is.", Tempest groaned and went up the stairs. At their end, he stopped and extended his sword to stop Ornstein too. "There." His sword wandered from blocking Ornstein to point at the cell in front of them.

"That is an elite knight, in fact.", Ornstein said. "It seems like he is still there. Do you want to talk to him?"

"Yes.", Tempest nodded his head. "I should have taken him with me. He said that I should leave, he didn't want to hurt me after his death, but... he is still there. There is still hope." Tempest put his weapons away and took a few steps forward but stopped when the elite knight started to walk, vanished from sight and then reappeared from a hole in the wall, having his own sword drawn.

"Shit, he's hollow.", Ornstein said, stepping in front of the frozen Tempest to stop the incoming blow. "I am sorry, little Storm, but there is no hope anymore for your friend."

Tempest saw how the nameless knight pulled back, taking his sword in both hands and how Ornstein moved his spear for a wide swing. He didn't even knew why he did it, but his hand flew up and touched Ornstein's arm, making the dragon slayer stop.

"Ornstein, please...", Tempest said, gaze averted to the side. "Let me handle this on my own..."

"Understood.", Ornstein said, stepping aside to watch the battle.

The battle was short but intense. Tempest decided to drop the defense and two hand his sword just like the nameless knight in front of him. Their swords changed a few blows and once Tempest had the upper hand the elite knight rolled away, but because of his heavy armour at a slow pace so that Tempest got the upper hand and could deal a good blow. The elite knight countered this in an instant which Tempest dodged with a roll of his own and once he stood up again his sword found the joints in between the elite knight's armour and he fell, the tell tale sound of an Undead being transported to the bonfire in the air.

"I didn't even knew his name...", Tempest said, bloody sword in both hands, pointed to the ground, as well as his gaze. He felt how Ornstein stepped next to him.

"I once heard that a Hollow finds piece when it's slayed by someone with a pure soul.", he said and laid a hand on Tempest's back.

"Is this true?", Tempest said, his eyeholes eyes focused on Ornstein. The dragon slayer gave a shrug. "You are awful.", he said but a tiny smile crept in his face. Before they moved on, Tempest noticed something on the ground. "Wait a moment...", he picked it up and his eyes grew wide. "His shield..."

"It looks like he left it there for you.", Ornstein said.

"...I will use it. In his honour.", Tempest said and put the shield on his back, replacing the knight's shield he had used earlier.

"Wait a moment.", Ornstein said. "Let's take a look at this shield again."

"Huh, why?", Tempest asked, already strapping it off.

"When it was the shield of the knight maybe he has written his name on it.", Ornstein mentioned.

"Why should someone do this? I don't see your name at your weapon."

"My weapon is unique. But believe me, the silver knights used to label their weapons because they all used the same but they still got used to a certain piece of equipment. This knight must have been part of a group, the elite knights of Astora. Surely they had the habit to label their equipment too.", Ornstein explained.

"This... actually makes sense...", Tempest looked at the shield and then turned it around to indeed see a name written on there. "Oscar...", he said. "That was his name." Tempest then walked into the cell where Oscar once had sat, telling him about the mission and giving him his Estus Flask. "Thank you, Oscar. Without you I would have never been able to go on this journey. And... to meet Ornstein.", he added the last sentence in a whisper. "I am so sorry that I couldn't help you..."

Tempest stayed there in silence for a minute before he turned around and returned to Ornstein.

"Finished giving your respects?", the dragon slayer asked, leaned against the wall.

"Yes. We pretty much have no business here anymore. We should go to the bonfire and leave. You wanted to go to Anor Londo, right?"

"Wait a minute, little Storm, let's check out the key."

"Which key?"

"The one I picked off the roof."

"Oh!", Tempest produced the key. "Completely forgot about this... I think I have an idea where it would fit..."

Tempest turned around to head to some stairs but loudly cursed and lunged to the side as big stone rolled down. "Damn, they made a new trap.", he hissed.

"Sounds like the first one got you real hard.", Ornstein said.

"Knocked me right into Oscar's cell.", Tempest grumbled.

The way back up didn't had any surprises. The hollows up there had broken swords and only one was a moderate danger with a bow. As they passed the door which led back to the Asylum Demon, Tempest pointed to it and said: "I went through the fog that was there and saw the Demon and the demon saw me and I swear would I have waited one second longer it would have jumped."

"I think in this instant your habit to always storm off was a good one.", Ornstein pointed out.

"There, see the two infantry hollows?", Tempest said, bringing the dragon slayer's attention to a door in front of them. "I was really curious what was behind them, but I had trouble fighting them back then, so I decided to try the demon instead. And then I forgot to go back."

"Well, let's dispatch them quick and see if the key fits.", Ornstein said and as soon as his words were out of his mouth the hollow closest to them had a spear through its body. Tempest took are of the other one and fumbled with the key. Once it was in the lock it clicked and it opened.

"Hey, it worked!", he shouted out and ran through the door. He looked around a bit and felt a bit of disappointment. "That's it? There doesn't seem to be anything... this only leads back to the central room." He walked a few more steps and stepped on something hard. "Wait, there is something.", he picked it up only to be met with more disappointed. "It's just a rusty ring..."

"Oh, I remember these ones.", Ornstein said. "It's a bit rusty but they were made to help you find your footing in deep water or swamps and such."

Tempest stared from the rusty ring to Ornstein and back to the rusty ring before he blurted out:

"That would have been useful in Blighttown!"


	22. Chapter 22

Title: A Storm is coming (Chapter 22)

Fandom: Dark Souls

Characters: Chosen Undead/Dragon Slayer Ornstein, Dark Sun Gwyndolin

Word Count: 6.992

AO3-Link: /works/16603610/chapters/54567793

Previous chapter: post/190441575024/title-a-storm-is-coming-chapter-21-fandom-dark

Summary: Ornstein drags Tempest to visit Gwyndolin to ask a specific question and then the both of them travel to a cold, lonely and gentle (?) place.

(Author's note: Phew, I had planned for them to go to Painted World for a while now, but I didn't thought it would have been so soon, but my characters act in their own ways and so they wanted to go there now or more, Ornstein wanted to go there, Tempest just follows along ^^

I could work some of the scenes I had planned for a long time into this arc, I very hope you enjoy.

Oh, and did you know that a fic inspired by mine was written? It is "Eye of the Storm" ( /works/22617718/chapters/54053647) by Doom 1713 and please give it a read!) 

After they had picked up the rusty ring which Tempest grumbled about a few minutes more, there was nothing more to do for them in the Asylum so they headed back to the bonfire.

"You are fine with teleporting?", Tempest asked, black eye sockets stared at Ornstein with a worried expression, even though this shouldn't be possible.

"Yes. This will be far quicker than walking back to Anor Londo.", Ornstein said.

"When we are back there, shall we take the opportunity and get rid of that titanite demon in the cathedral?", Tempest asked.

"No, I want go to to Dark Moon Tomb.", Ornstein said.

"Oh, alright.", Tempest extended one hand to the fire and felt for Ornstein's with the other. Even though the dragon slayer could barely feel anything through his thick metal gauntlet, he had a weird feeling in his chest once Tempest took his hand. Or maybe it was just his anticipation of the aftereffects of the teleport.

It didn't take long until he felt the familiar feeling of being dragged through space and once the Dark Moon Tomb came into side, he sat down, heavy breathing as he tried to settle down his nausea and to swallow down the bile instead of throwing up in his helmet.

"Are you alright?", Tempest said. When Ornstein slightly turned his head he saw that the little Storm had sat down next to him, still with this big worried eye sockets. Ornstein allowed himself a few more seconds of deep breathing before he replied.

"Yes... yes, I am fine. I just need a moment."

Tempest made an approving sound and waited until Ornstein stood up on his own and walked over to the fog gate to the actual Dark Moon Tomb. "Gwyndolin, it's me, Ornstein. I want to talk to you."

"Ornstein? What a nice surprise.", Gwyndolin's voice came from the other side of the fog gate. "Are you alone?"

"No, the little St... the Undead is with me too.", Ornstein said, cursing himself because he nearly slipped up. "He can come with me. In fact, I want him to hear what I have to say."

Tempest's heart skipped a beat as he heard this. Whatever it was Ornstein wanted to talk about, that he wanted Tempest to be a part of it made the little Undead's chest bloom with warmth. Maybe he still had a chance after all.

"Then come in.", Gwyndolin said and the fog gate vanished. Tempest rushed to the entrance but got stopped by Ornstein before he could cross it.

"Do you really think you should face the Dark Sun like this?", Ornstein scolded him.

Tempest stared at him with a little bit of confusion before realization hit. "Oh.", he just said and rushed back to the bonfire. When he came back, his hollowed out form had taken shape again and his blue eyes were eagerly placed on Ornstein.

Ornstein didn't bother to say anything to him but instead just stepped into the Dark Moon Tomb and crossed the hallway until they arrived at the room Gwyndolin resided in.

"Ornstein... Chosen Undead...", Gwyndolin said, clapping their hands together. "It is good to see you again. How would you describe the process of your quest?"

"We have gathered two of the lord souls!", Tempest piped up before Ornstein could even say anything. He found them in his luggage and presented them both to Gwyndolin. "Seath and Gravelord Nito." Tempest looked very proud as he presented them. "Ornstein was a huge help."

"Just be glad that you can't die, because I still have the day where you just rushed to Seath and died instantly and got imprisoned vividly in my mind.", Ornstein smirked.

"Don't remind me of that.", Tempest said, laying his head down on the table. "That only was the start for the most intense training in my life."

"It's good to see that you two are getting along now.", Gwyndolin chuckled with a white robed arm in front of their face. "But...", they took on a more serious tone. "You surely didn't want to come here to just chat."

"Of course not, no.", Ornstein said before realizing what Gwyndolin had said and snorted: "Getting along? I have to make sure that this little idiot doesn't rush to his doom day and night. I can't wait until we are done with this whole quest."

Tempest stared at Ornstein at this harsh words. Was he truly meaning it... He had a tight feeling in his chest, but... Ornstein had actively encouraged him to go back to the asylum. Even though it didn't had to do anything with the quest at all... Tempest had the assumption that Ornstein wasn't true to himself.

"Of course.", Gwyndolin said. "But you seem to be able to work together. That will help you greatly with getting the missing two lord souls." They flicked their catalyst and three tea cups appeared. "Let me get some tea.", they said and vanished for a short while before returning to fill steaming hot tea in the conjured tea cups. Tempest picked it up and studied it, not trusting that the tea cup wouldn't vanish any moment. He couldn't taste the tea anyway, only the warmth was nice.

"It won't vanish just because you drink out of it.", Ornstein said, taking a sip of his own.

"Oh, alright...", Tempest said and took a sip too. He briefly wondered why Gwyndolin hadn't also conjured the tea but figured that an illusion would hardly be nourishing. Not that he needed it...

Gwyndolin sat down again and took a sip of their own tea, putting their attention at Ornstein and said: "Well?"

"Gwyndolin, you probably remember Seath's daughter.", Ornstein said.

Even with the crown on their head Tempest could see how their gaze darkened.

"Of course. How could I ever forget her and... what my father had decided should be her fate.", they said, putting their tea cup down and staring into it.

"The little Storm and me have gone to the Asylum and...", Ornstein said, but got interrupted by Gwyndolin.

"Ornstein, what was that? Did you give our Chosen Undead a nickname?", they chuckled.

"I have an actual name, you know.", Tempest complained. He had gotten used to Ornstein calling him little Storm, but just being referred to as the Chosen Undead made him uneasy.

"Well, um...", Ornstein said and then furiously blushed. "That isn't the question here! We found this at the asylum!" He pulled out the doll and threw it on the table, making Gwyndolin gasp.

"But... but how did it find its way to the asylum...?", they picked the doll up and studied it instantly. "With that... with this doll you can visit her... with this doll you could free her..."

Tempest looked from Ornstein to Gwyndolin. What were they talking about? He almost was a bit annoyed that nobody seemed to explain anything to him.

"I wanted to ask for your permission.", Ornstein said. "Back then I couldn't do anything. It wasn't her fault. She never was a bad child. I am... still glad that I didn't had to, you know...", he made a gesture that was very clear about what he tried to not say out aloud. "But... I never stopped feeling guilty about it. She deserves better."

"Indeed.", Gwyndolin said. "Especially because... Wait here, I have to show you something."

As soon as Gwyndolin was gone Tempest had enough: "Ornstein, what are you talking about? I don't understand anything."

"Of course, this whole thing was very secret. You probably only heard fairy tales about it.", Ornstein said. "Did Astora have a version of the Painted World fairy tale?"

"Oh, of course we did. It is about this girl getting trapped into a magical painting.", Tempest said, trying to recall how the exact fairy tale went. His mother surely had told him this a few times...

"That was never a fairy tale. The truth is, the Painted World exists and it was used by the gods to imprison anything that they deemed to dangerous to be left free.", Ornstein said.

Tempest's face fell. This sounded a lot more bleak than the fairy tale he remembered.

Gwyndolin came back before Tempest could ask another question and laid a large round object on the table. It looked like an egg... but it was gigantic.

"Gwyndolin, is this...", Ornstein said, not finishing the question he already knew the answer too.

"Correct. I found this in Seath's workshop.", Gwyndolin said. As Ornstein put a questioning look at them they started to explain: "I thought I should clean it out a bit and see if he had some artifacts lying around that shouldn't be found. But I find this egg instead. He put a stasis spell on it, but now that he is dead, they should hatch soon."

"Are you planning to raise them?", Ornstein asked and Gwyndolin nodded.

"Wait, in this thing there is a baby?!", Tempest blurted out, just now getting what they were talking about.

"You got it.", Ornstein said. "I am sure Gwyndolin will do their best to raise them into a proper child."

"After all, I am pretty sure they might be a blood sibling of mine...", Gwyndolin said and Ornstein nearly choked on his tea.

"I just knew that Seath did it somehow... I don't know why, but of course he would manage to seduce even Lord Gwyn.", he growled.

"This is all getting too much for me...", Tempest said, he felt a headache coming. Just in which kind of world were these two living?

"I explain it later to you.", Ornstein said. "So you give us permission to visit the Painted World and free Priscilla?"

"Yes.", Gwyndolin said. "It would also be nice if the little one would be able to meet their sister. But please, Ornstein... don't force her to anything. It should be of her own free will."

At this Ornstein looked down at Tempest... while he got and understood Gwyndolin's concerns, he didn't had the feeling that the little Storm got a choice. Tempest interpreted Ornstein staring at him differently though and smiled up to him. "So our next destination is this Painted World? Were is it?"

"Here in Anor Londo, not too far from the Dark Moon Tomb actually.", Ornstein said.

"You just go up the stairs and then enter church where it is housed. You probably have traversed this room while balancing on the beams.", Gwyndolin added.

Tempest had to think a bit, but then realization hit: "Oh! This room with the chandelier and the white robed freaks which threw knifes?! Don't ask me how often I fell to my death there. I thought I would never make it through and then I had to encounter the sharp shooters!"

"Ah yes, my favourite part of watching your journey to us.", Ornstein grinned and received a tiny slap from Tempest.

"I am very glad you two get along so well.", Gwyndolin said. "How about you finish your tea before you set off?"

"And how about something to eat?", Tempest said. "Aren't you hungry, Ornstein? We have been up and fighting the whole morning."

"I am good.", Ornstein said. "You can feel free to cook something for me once we are finished with our quest in the Painted World."

"I am going to cook the greatest meal ever.", Tempest grinned and drank the rest of his tea in one gulp.

Of course he still had to wait for Ornstein who wasn't Undead and still had basic needs but once the dragon slayer was finished with everything, they headed into the direction of the Painted World.

"Be careful. There should be plenty of Painting Guardians in there.", Ornstein said, standing at the door leading into the church housing the Painted World, peeking into the room.

"Painting Guardians?", Tempest asked.

"These figures within wearing white robes. They used to be human but then they all got cursed with Undeath and are now hollowed out."

"Oh, the annoyances with the throwing knifes?"

Ornstein nodded: "Yes, if you want to call them this..."

"They shouldn't be a problem. This time we are on the floor and not like 30 feet above the ground.", he grabbed his sword with both hands and proceeded into the room. "That shouldn't be a problem."

Roughly thirty seconds later Tempest came running back to the door, a few throwing knifes stuck in him, around five Painting Guardians following him, screaming: "It is a problem!"

Ornstein sighed: "I told you to be careful."

He stepped into the room and took care of two Painting Guardians at once with a single thrust of his spear. It was enough time for Tempest to heal his wounds with a sip of Estus and turn the battle around. Ornstein noticed that he now used his shield.

Tempest managed to get one of them down and then got pulled against a pillar as he tried to block their continuous attacks. Ornstein jumped in and slashed one of them open with a single strike of his spear, giving Tempest the opportunity to thrust his sword into the last one.

"Well, little Storm, do you have to say something in your defense?", Ornstein asked as Tempest stood there, breathing heavily. After a few minutes he had caught his breath and said: "I didn't know they would hide behind the pillars, alright?!"

"Now you know. And now we can be more careful with the ones that are still here.", Ornstein said. "Just be glad that hollows aren't very intelligent. If they still would have had their minds, they would have all come at you."

Tempest shuddered at the thought and put his sword to his back in favour of picking up his bow.

"Good thought.", Ornstein smiled as an arrow whirred through the air and hit one of the Painting Guardians, prompting them to turn around and rush at them.

A few arrows and a few corpses later the both of them stood in front of the painting.

"Woah.", Tempest said. "This is the biggest painting I ever saw."

"The artist's name was Ariamis.", Ornstein said. "I have never met them, but they had the power to turn the world into the painting into life. With the doll we should be able to enter it."

"Wait a moment. I want to look at the painting from afar before we go in.", Tempest said and ran quite a distance back. As he turned around, his gaze was on the painting for a short while before getting distracted.

"Oh wait, Ornstein, there are still some guardians left.", he shouted and pointed into the corners of the room and shortly after he had said that, already rushed to take care of them.

Ornstein simply watched him fight and once both of them had dropped dead – for now – Tempest stopped on the way back to Ornstein and looked at something on the ground before kneeling down and inspecting it closer. That got Ornstein curious and when he checked on Tempest he saw the little Undead frowning in front of some huge, black armour.

"Did this belong to anyone you know?", Ornstein asked.

Tempest shook his head. "No, never saw a knight wearing this armour. Or at least I think. I tried to remember, but I am pretty sure I never saw them."

Ornstein kneeled down too to inspect the armour. "That armour is huge and heavy, as well as the weapons that come with it.", he said. "The one wearing this must have been big and strong. Probably would have been black knight material if they weren't human."

Tempest gave Ornstein a tart look and said: "What, you didn't had humans in your ranks?"

"We had.", Ornstein said. "Havel and his warriors. But nobody who made it into the rank of silver or black knight was ever human."

"Havel?", Tempest asked.

"I am surprised that you didn't meet him.", Ornstein said. "He got undead and hollowed out. I think Lord Gwyn locked him in a tower near Dark Root Garden so that he couldn't hurt anyone. Stone armour. Uses a dragon tooth as a weapon. One of the only humans who managed to face a dragon."

"Aaaah!", Tempest said, realization hitting. "Yes, I remember that one. I didn't come back after I got smashed one too many times. That did hurt horribly, you know."

"I hope you have locked the door again.", Ornstein said. "Though with the state Lordran is in it hardly matters..."

Tempest laid down the armour he had inspected and looked up. "Huh, I wonder how this one hollowed out? Did they fall of the roofs one too many times and then just... gave up?"

"Who knows?", Ornstein shrugged. "We shouldn't search for questions we don't have answers for, but instead concentrate on our mission. Take my hand, little Storm."

Tempest blushed a bit as the dragon slayer presented his hand. While it was usual for them to hold hands when teleporting through the bonfire, Ornstein usually didn't invite him to hold it. He raised his hand to place it into the cold gauntlet of the dragon slayer and waited.

Ornstein touched the painting in front of them and the next thing he knew was that they got sucked in.

Once Tempest opened his eyes he gasped. The sight in front of him was the exact same one as the sight of the Painting. Before he could take it in fully though he noticed that both him and Ornstein were standing on a rather narrow hanging bridge and the dragon slayer was swaying a bit. Oh, of course, his teleporting sickness.

"Are you feeling alright, Ornstein?", Tempest said, worry shining in his eyes. "Or do you have to puke?"

Ornstein took a few heavy breathes which didn't convince Tempest at all that he wouldn't puke down the bridge any moment so without thinking he took Ornstein's hand in his own and started walking: "We should get you off that bridge, the unstable ground will make your nausea only worse."

Tempest was a tiny bit surprised when Ornstein pressed his hand into Tempest's and let himself guide off the bridge. Once they were off, the walkway was still very narrow but more stable and there were quite a few stairs. "Do you want to sit down here?", Tempest asked and turned around to look at Ornstein.

The dragon slayer nodded and then gulped before sitting down at the base of the stairs, heavily breathing. "Maybe you should take your helmet off to get some fresh air.", Tempest suggest, sitting himself on the stairs, both hands on his knees, looking at Ornstein.

Ornstein, who still hadn't uttered a single word, heeded Tempest's advice and took off his helmet, his face looked kinda pale and even a bit green. The teleport into the Painted World seemed to have taken a good toll on the dragon slayer's stomach. He continued to take deep breathes, in and out and Tempest was starting to ask himself if he should take cover when the inevitable happened but then Ornstein straightened himself and muttered: "Hm, alright, it seems to be over."

"Are you sure?", Tempest asked as he got up. Ornstein made a sound of agreement and fumbled his hair through his helmet, staggering a bit more before getting his composure back and picking up his spear. Tempest turned around and finally could take in the view he had seen from the bridge.

"It's hard to believe this place is real.", he marvelled. He almost couldn't believe it was a real place, but he could feel the chilling cold air on his skin and the snow on the stairs crunched under his boots.

"This place is called the Painted World of Ariamis.", Ornstein said. "Like I said, some gods are able to create paintings that turn to life and Ariamis was one of them."

"Amazing.", Tempest said as he ran up the stairs, Ornstein slowly following him. Tempest only stopped once he spotted a bonfire and went over to light it up. Once Ornstein had caught up with him, he had already rested on it and murmured: "Hm, the lord vessel won't function with this one... I can't visualize where I want to go..."

"Of course.", Ornstein said, sitting down next to Tempest. "This place is a prison. Every Undead who would be able to warp through bonfires would just have been able to leave, so it got cut off from the others."

"That probably means we are stuck here.", Tempest said, lying down in the snow with his arms stretched out.

"There is a way to leave this place, don't worry.", Ornstein said. "But for this we have to find our way through the Painted World."

Tempest pulled himself up and then jumped on his feet: "What are we waiting for then? Let's explore every crook and nanny of this place!"

"You are strangely motivated.", Ornstein chuckled, rising on his own feet.

"Hey, I am in the world of my childhood fairy tale. Of course I want to see it!", Tempest could hardly conceal the excitement in his voice.

"Maybe don't get your hopes up too high. This place is still a prison. There are bound to be some ugly things here...", Ornstein said, turning around and facing the stairs that led to a large building. "Little Storm, how about you take the lead?"

"Alright.", Tempest headed to the stairs and started to climb them, stopping and raising his shield when a few hollows charged at him. "It seems like we already got company.", he said as he swung his sword and fell one of the three hollows that had charged at him. Ornstein's spear struck the other two down with ease.

After all three hollows had collapsed on the ground with a groan, Tempest scanned the area and then walked to the large wooden door right in front of them. "This... won't budge...", he grunted as he tried to open it. "Seems like you have to open it from the other side."

"So we have to go the long way.", Ornstein said, turning to the right.

"Like usual.", Tempest let go of the door and followed Ornstein. The path ended at the right wall, but instead a few stairs were build into the wall in front of them which Tempest climbed up. After he had climbed these stairs up, Tempest turned to the right to see another set of stairs... and an arrow flying at him which he avoided just in time, leaving Ornstein exposed to the attack but before Tempest could warn him Ornstein just flicked his spear and the arrow fell to the ground.

"This place must be chuck full of hollows.", he murmured as he charged his spear at the sharpshooter on the top of the stairs. The smell of burned flesh was in the air once it fell down the stairs.

"Why are there hollows in this place?", Tempest asked. "They weren't like... painted in it, right?"

"No, of course not.", Ornstein said. "When the Painted World was created, hollows didn't exist yet. These are Undead who were tossed into the Painted World before we established the Asylum. Before we knew how much this curse would spread. In the Painted World we wouldn't have to fear them getting hollow and attack us."

"This actually makes sense...", Tempest said and ascended the stairs in front of them, bracing himself for more hollows. And of course two more hollows attacked him with broken swords. While their weapon hardly could do any damage, hollows possessed some kind of wild strength which could even made a hit with a broken sword hurt. As he fend them off he spotted another archer on even more stairs that led further up. Ornstein jumped in and fried these archer too.

Tempest managed to take down the two hollows who had fought him and when he looked up, he saw Ornstein standing there, two more hollows approaching him, but these ones looked... wrong. Where their head should be there was like a... swollen bulb. One of them carried a torch and the other one weaved pyromancy. No wonder that Ornstein wasn't keen on getting close... or... he seemed to have another reason.

"Little Storm, be careful with them.", Ornstein said, slowly backing away. "Keep your distance with them, they are toxic."

Tempest's eyes widened and he switched to his bow: "Out of the way then, Ornstein, I am going to shoot them!"

The dragon slayer gladly complied and soon enough both of the strange hollows had been shot, Tempest surprised at how easy he had hit them. Their swollen head apparently was a good mark.

Ornstein was right about them being toxic, once the bulb popped, which in itself was a disgusting sound, a purple cloud evacuated from them. The smell was even more disgusting as the sound and Tempest could see how Ornstein turned around and had this heavy breathing again.

"If you have to puke, just do it.", Tempest said. "It's better to get it out instead of forcing it to stay down."

"I am fine...", Ornstein said. Tempest decided to still leave him a bit of space and walked back down the stairs, inspecting the fallen hollows. The bow of one of the archers looked still usable so he pocketed it and when he got back up he noticed that there was a small path in the corner. He narrowed his eyes and inspected the small path to see another set of stairs that led up.

"How many stairs does this place have?", Tempest muttered, waving Ornstein to him.

"What have you found, little Storm?", Ornstein asked but his question got answered when he looked to the right. "You want to go up there?"

"Yes.", Tempest said and slowly walked the stairs up until he arrived at an alcove where of course two hollows were awaiting him. Both of them fell with one strike, one to Tempest's sword and one to Ornstein's spear.

"And now...?", Tempest looked around and spotted more stairs. "That Ariamis guy surely liked stairs.", he complained and ran them up, an unfortunate hollow at the end of them turned victim to his sword. Ornstein quietly followed him. The stairs led to a small roof with a corpse lying on it. Tempest inspected the corpse and picked up a small white item which seemed to waver.

"The soul of a decent warrior.", Ornstein said. "They had accumulated quite a bit of soul power. Maybe they have fought against the hollows in this world again and again."

"You can see this with just one glance?", Tempest asked. "I have to pop them to know how much power they hold..."

"Of course, the greater the soul, the more soul power the bearer had.", Ornstein said. "There doesn't seem to be anything else here. We should go back and follow the path."

"Wait a moment...", Tempest raised some binoculars and looked at a tower in the distance. "Ornstein, do you see this?", he handed the binoculars to the dragon slayer who declined them. He could see what had gotten Tempest's attention well enough.

"The corvians? They are native to this world. Don't pay them any mind.", he said.

"...They are natives to these world?!", Tempest asked.

"Well, yes... at least I think so... I never have heard of corvians existing outside of the Painted World.", Ornstein explained further.

"...But how do you know about this?", Tempest asked. "It sounds like you have been here already..."

"I... might have visited this place once it was first finished...", Ornstein admitted. "Before it was a prison. Only for a short while and only to determine for Lord Gwyn if we could use it... that is when I saw them."

"You could have said this sooner.", Tempest said and turned around, looking down the side of the roof they were. "Huh, I think I can see something on that alcove here..."

Before Tempest could finish that thought they heard the flapping of wings and two of the corvians blocked their way.

"What... they shouldn't be aggressive!", Ornstein said, readying his spear.

"Wha... these are women?!", Tempest exclaimed as he picked up the fight, getting kicked in the face right away, almost falling down the roof but he managed to hang on a ledge.

"Tsk.. be more careful, little Storm.", Ornstein hissed as he thrust his spear through the bare chest of one of the corvians which shrieked in pain before collapsing. As he was busy getting his spear out of the corpse, he saw the other one readying an attack... Once she flew into the air Ornstein abandoned his spear for the moment, realizing that she would try and grab him. He dove down and the corvian missed him, shrieking in frustration.

Ornstein scrambled back on his feet, he might have beeen strong but even he would have trouble without his weapon and now there was a corvian between him and said weapon. Luckily, Tempest managed to climb back up and thrust his sword through the back of the corvian, which collapsed with a pained shriek.

"Thanks, little Storm.", Ornstein said, dusting some snow off his armour before he casually walked over to get his spear.

"Ornstein.. thanking me?! Who are you and what happened to the real Ornstein?", Tempest said, as he struggled to get his sword out of the corvian. Ornstein walked over and pulled the sword out with one hand.

"You can think of me what you like, little Storm, I will appreciate when someone saved my life.", he said. "A fall of this roof would have managed to hurt me too and the corvians are not warriors that you should take likely."

"That they weren't wearing anything was taking me off guard.", Tempest said. "Or I wouldn't have gotten nearly kicked off the tower."

"What, really, little Storm?", Ornstein grinned. "A bare chest of a bird woman distracted you?"

Tempest blushed a bit before blurting out: "I am into guys! But it still surprises me when I see a naked woman, alright?!"

"I hardly would call the corvians woman, look at these abominations.", Ornstein pointed down at them. "A bird head, bird wings, bird feet... only the middle is kind of that of a woman. They look like something Seath would think up in his work shop but he actually had a sense for aesthetic."

"Actually... I am not surprised your civilization fell.", Tempest said, crossing his arms. While he agreed that the corvians weren't the nicest sight he wouldn't call them abominations. After all, he knew how it was to be viewed as a monster.

"What is that supposed to mean?", Ornstein's voice had taken on a dangerous tone.

"Oh, um, nothing.", Tempest said and simply jumped off the roof. Ornstein hurried after him only to see him picking up something on a small alcove which he had landed on.

"...Don't scare me so, idiot.", he shouted after Tempest.

"Huh, you haven't call me that a long time.", Tempest said mockingly and jumped down the alcove. He was standing in front of the wooden closed door again. A few seconds later Ornstein landed near him, snow puffing up around him.

"What have you picked up?", Ornstein asked.

"Twin humanities.", Tempest said. "So something useful. I was running out of humanities after our training and now I manage to slowly build up a stack."

"That is good, it surely is more aesthetically pleasing to see your non hollowed out face.", Ornstein said. It might have been a harmless remark, Tempest knew that his hollowed out form was creepy and ugly, but it still stung a bit. Being Undead was a part of him and he wished that Ornstein would be able to accept every part of him. He didn't say anything anymore and quietly trudged the stairs back up, the corpses of the hollows they had slain earlier still lying there.

With his eyes on the ground Tempest could see another soul floating around. He mindlessly picked it up and pocketed it.

"Quite a few warriors have tried to get out of here it seems.", Ornstein said.

"Would they have made it?", Tempest asked, gaze still on the ground.

"If they had been sentenced to be prisoned here, not without anyone of the outside world helping them leave.", Ornstein said. "So their death was in vain. At least their leftover regret can help you in your quest, little Storm."

"Regret?", Tempest asked.

"Souls only linger on when they have something to regret when they died.", Ornstein explained. "Then they can't move on and will stay with their corpse. Anyone is able to pick them up and use them to strengthen their own soul power."

"Does that mean...", Tempest thoughts wandered to the "special" souls in his possession. The bright glowing ones and the fiery souls of the lords. Ornstein seemed to have picked up on his train of thoughts because he spoke again.

"No, little Storm, while some of them may have been left because of regret, as an Undead you naturally draw souls to your dark sign. Every being that dies when an Undead is near will have their soul pulled to them as well as their soul power, if they want or not. Surely you must have realized that you gained soul power even though you haven't slain a foe."

Tempest nodded. It had happened quite a few times. He often had found a dead hollow getting killed by gravity, which was good because he nearly snapped trying to find out where the souls suddenly gained to his stock had come from.

"See?", Ornstein said and grew quiet. In the meantime they had arrived at the end of the stairs. Tempest turned to the right were a small stone bridge spanned over the pit beneath two buildings. Just as he wanted to take the next step he felt a pain in his back and once he had swirled around, sword in both hands, he saw a spear sticking out of a hollow.

"Pay better attention, little Storm.", Ornstein said, casually shaking the hollow from his spear.

"Where did it come from...", Tempest murmured before his eyes spotted a doorway. "Oh, from there?" Tempest interest in the bridge waned as he walked over and took a peek into the building. "Hm, seems safe...", he said and crept forwards.

Ornstein followed him, barely fitting through the doorway. "Do.. do we have to go down there, little Storm?", he asked, even though he could stretch out in the actual building again. The ceiling was far more higher up than the doorway had been.

"I am curious.", Tempest said. "You don't have to come with me if you don't want to."

"It is my duty to assist you, remember?", Ornstein said.

Again, words that felt harmless but stung. Tempest wanted so much more from Ornstein. He wanted for him that he cared about Tempest of his own free will and not because his god had told him it. He had thought... he really had thought that Ornstein cared for him, especially in the Tomb of the Giants, but then he had to hear from him that he was only aiding Tempest so that he could go find his old love.

It was... frustrating to say the least and so Tempest huffed and moved on. In the building there wasn't much to see... but there was a wooden construct that spiralled down and Tempest followed it until he hit a dead end. As soon as his eyes had gotten use to the dark, he spotted two rats, very much like the ones in the depth.

Without saying anything he drew his sword and slashed both of them, making them squeak in pain and collapse in a pool of their own blood.

"Anything interesting down there?", Ornstein asked. He had stayed on the wooden boards behind Tempest.

"Just another soul.", Tempest sighed. "Probably got eaten by the rats after they fell." Tempest pocketed the soul and the both of them climbed the wooden construct back up until they were at the bridge again. Tempest stayed silent the whole trip.

In front of the bridge, Tempest shielded his eyes to try and see what would await them at the other side. The bridge clearly led into another building. Just as he wanted to get his binoculars out his eyes grew wide as he saw the distinct shape of an arrow coming nearer and he raised his shield just in time to not get an awkward new hole in his face.

"A sharpshooter.", he growled and rushed off.

"Little Storm, wait!", Ornstein called after him but it was too late. Tempest ran the whole distance to the sharpshooter without pausing once and thrust his sword into its chest, a grin on his face for having taking the sharpshooter out. Just as he pulled his sword back out of the hollow, two more turned up... they had hung over the ledge. Tempest took a few steps back and then intended to run back into the room, but the room was a flaming mess. The torch and pyromancy wielding toxic hollows were occupying it.

Tempest had run into a trap and if not for a miracle he would find himself back at the bonfire again. There was no way he could fight properly at this narrow ledge where the sharpshooter had fired from.

His miracle came in the form of Ornstein who barged into the room and, despite his fear of flames, braved through the toxic hollows and transformed their swollen heads into slush. With renewed determination Tempest picked up his own weapon and killed the two hollows who had tried to corner him, both of them falling to the ground with a gargled moan.

His triumph didn't last long because Tempest very much could feel the figure of the dragon slayer looming over him. "You idiot.", he snarled. "We have talked about this... over and over again. Don't rush without thinking! You only get yourself killed!"

"Whatever...", Tempest said, hardly believing the word that escaped his mouth next. "It's not like you would care about it or anything. Besides, I am just coming back anyway."

"Little Storm, what...", Ornstein said, his stance wasn't looming and threatening anymore but instead looked... deflated.

"You are just with me so that you can go on a journey to find your old lover.", Tempest said, nearly sniffling. "You never cared about me. I am just a nuisance, just this annoying Undead."

"That's... that's not true...", Ornstein said, a tremble in his voice.

"Oh yeah?", Tempest got himself worked up. "Then why have you never asked me what I want to do when this is all over?!"

Ornstein now looked really really small, which was impressive for a man of his size. "It's... It's not that I am not interested, but...", Ornstein didn't finish the sentence.

Because Tempest didn't knew. Tempest wholeheartedly believed that linking the flame would set everything right again. That it would get rid of the curse of the Undeath, give the gods back their power and Anor Londo would once bloom again. He didn't know that linking the flame meant to sacrifice oneself...

"But?", Tempest asked, an angry glare and some tears in his eyes. Ornstein felt horrible. He couldn't tell him. Not with the hope he still had...

"I am sorry, little Storm.", Ornstein said instead. "So.. what is it you would like to do when this all is over?"

Tempest's eyes widened and he looked at Ornstein before a sheepish smile crept over his face and he scratched the back of his helmet when he said: "I know it doesn't sound like much but I was thinking about opening up a tavern on the road. For everyone who needs a break, a soft bed and something warm to eat. I want to see people enjoying my meals."

The feeling in Ornstein's guts got even tighter. That was such a down to earth dream that would easily be able to be fulfilled. And he loved how honest Tempest felt when he told him. The little Undead sat himself down and swung his legs over the ledge, letting them dangle.

"Being a warrior or a knight doesn't suit me.", he said further. "I have thought about all kind of meals I could serve there already. I always loved to see when you tasted my cooking. I want to see this every day."

Ornstein sat down next to Tempest and looked at him. He should tell him. He really should tell him, but... he wanted to let the little Storm dream. And to not crush his hopes in the middle of their quest. He sat there and listened as he rambled on and on about the dream he had. The dream that would never got fulfilled.

And so Ornstein felt a chill go over his spine when Tempest asked: "Say, Ornstein, how about you come with me? Isn't that better than searching for someone who dumped you centuries ago?"

Ornstein, feeling tears in his eyes, only could say: "I'll think about it." 

(Author's note: I love that last part so much!

How did you like the chapter? Tell me your favourite part down in the comments.)


	23. Chapter 23

Summary: The duo continues to explore the Painted World up until the very being Ornstein wanted to talk to is standing in front of them.

(Author's note: Ah, the second part of the Painted World chapter. This chapters are so long, but now I need to write some more first. I hope this chapter can bide you over until I am done with the next one!

Also, I received some lovely post/190960883814/aaaaah-oh-my-gawd-thank-you-so-much-its-soFanart from This-Organic-Corner on tumblr, please give it all a look and a reblog!)

Ornstein sat in silence while Tempest talked a bit more about his dream until he grew silent too.

"...Is this the reason why you got upset earlier? You thought that I didn't care about you?", Ornstein finally spoke up.

Tempest dangled his leg a bit more and then deeply sighed, rolling his shoulders before he replied:  
"I guess I was just jealous. You had this great life and all these bonds and … everyone I once cared for got out of my reach when I turned undead and everyone I met and cared for here started to turn hollow left and right. I... I was hoping to be a part of your world."

Ornstein directed his gaze to the ground, into the seemingly bottomless pit they were currently seated above.

"Once... Once I would say I had a great life, but that is long over.", he said. "In fact... I wanted to give up. I was looking forward to die so when it didn't happen I was devastated."

"In other words, if you were Undead you would have gone hollow...", Tempest said, a shudder rippled through Ornstein's body. That analogy was rather accurate.

"I guess... you could see it like that.", he murmured. "I didn't want to live anymore, I wanted to give up everything but then...", Ornstein took a deep breath, "You came stumbling into the Dark Moon Tomb and... and after meeting you, I don't want to give up anymore... Maybe... seeing you struggle but still going on was...inspiring?"

"Funny.", Tempest said. "Because the reason I went into the grave was me almost giving up."

Ornstein gave Tempest a glance and the small Undead returned it.

"Maybe we both have picked each other up.", Ornstein said. "I am sorry that I made you feel bad... it's not that I don't care about you, but...", Ornstein sighed, averting his gaze once again. "It's complicated."

"It's fine.", Tempest said. "I am already glad that you told me this. Let's move on." He got up and walked into the house. Ornstein followed him as he took a look around, determining where they should go next.

"There is a door that leads outside.", Tempest pointed to it with his sword. He walked over to it and through the door. Ornstein stayed inside. He had to duck every time he wanted to use one of the doorways and it was starting to get on his back.

Tempest wasn't out there for long. "There seems to be nothing out there...", he murmured. "Besides a corpse on a string. Who would put up a decoration like that?" The sway of a sword was heard and a good while later a distant thud. "There, that's better.", Tempest said and came back into the house.

"Where to now?", Ornstein asked.

"Hm.", Tempest contemplated. "There are some stairs leading further up. Let's try them."

As they ascended the stairs Tempest said: "We already went up so many stairs. And there are still more. How high did they build this place?"

"Enough for a tower to be in the middle.", Ornstein replied. "Also, it wasn't build, it was painted."

"Oh yes, I forgot.", Tempest said. He frowned when another set of stairs showed up. "Again?", he complained but got cut short when a hollow ran down the stairs to attack. Tempest reacted wonderfully, Ornstein thought, as his sword fell the hollow in one swoop. Tempest continued to ascend the stairs, Ornstein following him. Up the stairs there was a little attic with one of these toxic hollows shuffling closer to them.

"Let me take care of it.", Ornstein said. Tempest stepped aside, knowing that Ornstein's longer weapon was better to deal with enemies where you should keep a certain range. Ornstein stabbed the hollow and both of them hold their breath until the putrid odor had disappeared.

"Seems to be a dead end.", Ornstein said, already turning around.

"Wait, there's something by the window." Before Ornstein could stop him Tempest had already jumped, misjudged the landing and staggered back on his feet after he had fell. He picked up whatever had piqued his interest and then stared down the window.

"Ornstein... there is a ladder leading down.", he said.

Ornstein jumped over the gap in one graceful motion and confirmed with his own eyes what the little Storm just had said.

"You first.", Ornstein said and grabbed the ladder once Tempest had slid it down. Once Ornstein arrived a the ground he saw that Tempest had stabbed another hollow.

"A sneaky one.", Tempest said. "Tried to attack me from behind."

"You are getting more and more reliable, little Storm.", Ornstein smiled and Tempest's face lit up.

They followed some stairs down until they arrived at another building. This time Ornstein ducked through the doorway to follow Tempest. He could only spot some rats and some furniture. He and Tempest dispatched the rats without trouble.

"Oh look, a chest.", Tempest said and pointed at it. There was – in fact – a chest Ornstein had confused for furniture earlier. Tempest took his sword and gave the chest a good smack before opening it.

"You are learning, little Storm.", Ornstein said.

"I got eaten one time too many.", Tempest said as he spread the contents of the chest on the table in the room. "Isn't that..."

"Yes.", Ornstein said, not needing for Tempest to finish the question. "The uniform of the Painting Guardians."

"But we haven't actually seen some of them in here.", Tempest mused.

"They may have hollowed beyond recognition.", Ornstein said. "Or just kept some backup clothes here, who knows."

Tempest shrugged and folded the uniform to put in his bag. He curiously eyed another door that would lead out of the building and went there, taking a look. After a short while he came back. "It's only a small yard, there isn't actually something there.", he said.

"I guess that means we should get back.", Ornstein suggested and Tempest nodded.

A short while later they were back in the house and left it through the last exit they hadn't explored yet. Straight in front of them was the tower Ornstein had mentioned earlier, but Tempest was more interested into something that was left of them.

"Do you see this?", Tempest pointed at a grey figure in the distant. "What is it?"

Ornstein narrowed his eyes as he looked at the grey figure. He had trouble figuring out what it was, but something in him told him he should have a bad feeling about it... "I don't know, but I don't trust it.", he said.

"I am going to check it out.", Tempest said, curiosity winning.

Ornstein's bad feeling still wouldn't leave him so he followed Tempest but stayed off the bridge leading to the grey figure, instead opted to wait on the ledge left to it.

"You aren't coming?", Tempest asked, already on the bridge.

"I have a bad feeling about this.", Ornstein growled at nothing in particular. "Be careful, little Storm."

Tempest nodded and got his sword and shield ready. But nothing could have prepared Ornstein for what did happen next. Tempest slowly approached the figure and once he was rather close that whole grey mass which hadn't moved at all earlier was coming to life and charged right at Tempest, who, in a desperate attempt to protect himself raised his shield but ultimately got hurled against the tower with a sickening crunch and then fell down, the snow around him getting tinted red.

Ornstein was torn between checking out Tempest... he was still there, he hadn't died and the freaking dragon on the bridge. Now he knew where his uneasy feeling had come from. They had imprisoned a a minor dragon into the Painted World and apparently it had managed to get a dose of the undead curse and turned into a rotten mass of flesh.

The good thing was, the dragon barely had any sanity and so it was stuck at the front of the bridge where it spew out a horrible smelling mass that surely was toxic.

Ornstein decided that he should check on the little Storm first and ran over to Tempest who laid unconscious on the ground, body bleeding and broken.

"That he didn't die of this attack, he's a lucky one.", Ornstein said as he removed the Estus Flask of Tempest's hips and gave him to drink, waiting for his swallowing reflex to get the liquid actually into his body.

After a few seconds Tempest eyes shot open and he coughed and wheezed. Ornstein offered him another sip of the Estus which he gratefully took. Ornstein watched fascinated as the wounds closed and the broken bones mended themselves.

"Ouch, that did hurt!", Tempest groaned and then his eyes widened even further when he saw the undead dragon on the bridge.

"Ornstein, what in the world is that?", he blurted out and Ornstein could see genuine fear in his face. Understandable, that thing had just flung him through the air and nearly killed him. While dying didn't mean the end for the Undead, Tempest had already expressed how much it hurt every single time.

"Undead dragon.", Orstein said. "In short, a dragon which caught itself a dose of the curse of the Undeath."

Tempest managed to get up, standing on wobbly feet. "I.. I think I have seen one of these elsewhere!"

"What, where?", Ornstein said but when another spew of toxic vomit landed on the ground in front of them, he turned around and said: "Let me take care of this rotten mass of flesh first, then we can talk."

Ornstein leaped directly on the head of the undead dragon and thrust his spear deep into it, so deep that the dragon screeched in pain and shortly after that collapsed, its whole body dissipating into soul power. Ornstein could feel how an amount got added to his own soul and could see how an amount was getting drawn to Tempest.

"That was awesome! You are so awesome, Ornstein!", Tempest cheered in the back before getting shaken by another coughing fit. Another sip of Estus seemed to fix that. Tempest came nearer to where the dragon had dissipated. "I can't believe you used to fight these things for a living."

"My title of dragon slayer is not there for naught.", Ornstein said, blushing a little bit. It had been so long since people had praised him for doing what he did best and.. hearing it from Tempest again and again made Ornstein feel a lot better about himself. "And you are alright, little Storm, not hurt anymore?"

"Yes, every damage is healed.", Tempest said, coming back on the bridge, exploring it now that the threat was gone. "And for what I have said earlier, where I have seen a thing like this. When I came back from Blighttown...", Ornstein made a face at the mention of the putrid swamp which Tempest of course couldn't see, "..I came through a valley and I explored it a bit and there was some things lying around and I wanted to take a look and then the corpse around them started moving and I got scared and ran away."

"This sounds very like you.", Ornstein said as Tempest walked along the bridge and picked up a few things. He would forever be a little hoarder. He then looked into the distance and took a few steps back.

"What is wrong?", Ornstein said and walked near Tempest who ducked behind Ornstein.

"I think there is another one...", Tempest said. Ornstein turned his head around and saw that there indeed was another grey mass of flesh, but...

He got closer and poked it with his spear. Nothing happened.

"Tsk, it's the bottom half.", he said. "That thing had already rotten enough to not be in one piece anymore. Without the head it is completely harmless."

Tempest, who hadn't stopped hiding between Ornstein breathed out in relief.

"Good.", he said. "Though... it kinda is blocking the way. I guess we have to find another."

"Then lead the way, little Storm.", Ornstein said, stepping aside and waiting for Tempest to step out of his shadow which he reluctantly did.

At the other end of the bridge Tempest headed left and entered what must be the tower they had seen earlier. There were stairs leading up and down. Tempest considered for a moment before he went up. Ornstein followed him without question.

Only a few steps up the stairs a corvian blocked their way. "Argh and there is nearly any room to fight.", Tempest cursed.

"Just knock them off.", Ornstein suggested, knowing that it was easier said as done as Tempest blocked her attacks and he quickly got a taste of it when another one of them appeared and pinched them. "Shoot.", he cursed, readying his spear.

The battle was short but intense and Ornstein managed to give the corvian a nasty gash in her wing which made her fall off the stairs and she didn't came flying back. He turned around to see how Tempest was doing. The small Undead did hold himself up but had a deep scratch in his arms, the corvian was riddled with wounds but nothing was serious.

Then she pulled back and while Tempest seemed to see it a chance, Ornstein shouted: "Watch out, little Storm." and pulled him out of the way before the corvian could land on him to peck his eyes out, instead colliding with the ground, screeching in pain.

"That was close, thanks.", Tempest said as Ornstein connected his spear with the corvian's head and then casually tossed her off the stairs.

"You might be able to heal yourself but that would still have hurt.", Ornstein said. Tempest continued up the stairs until they were at the very top. A lot of crows were hanging around a nest but flew away when they stepped nearer.

Tempest kneeled down and picked something up, then presenting the red shape to Ornstein: "What is that?"

"My, my! It's a red sign soapstone.", Ornstein said. "Haven't seen one of them in ages..."

"What are they used for?", Tempest asked.

"Hm, little Storm, you know about the white sign soapstone?", Ornstein asked.

Tempest nodded. "Yeah, that Solaire fellow was giving me one of these."

"These are similar. They summon your phantom to another place but not for help for a fight, but a duel so to speak.", Ornstein said. "Useful when you want to see how strong you are with all you have without like... actually dying. We used to summon each other as red phantoms to test our strength... Artorias and me I mean."

"Interesting.", Tempest said, mouth agape in awe. "I never knew you could use these things!"

"It has been a long time.", Ornstein said. "...But say, little Storm, you said you have a white sign soapstone?"

"Um, yes.", Tempest nodded.

"Doesn't that mean that other Undead are providing their aid? Why didn't you ask them for help?"

"Um...", Tempest said, his face turning a bit red. "The thing is... I never saw them. I think you can only see them when you are not hollowed out and I died so much... besides... I rarely could see them around the bonfires. I would have really needed some help to get to the actual guardians of the bells..."

He grew silent again and then asked: "Wait, Ornstein, does that mean you have a soapstone like this?"

"Um, well...", Ornstein said, thinking about the time where he had let himself summoned to help with dragon attacks too far away. He always had given his glowing gold summon sign to anyone who needed his help and then it was passed to the next village. And each successful attempt rewarded him with a shiny golden medal.. proof that he put his faith into his master.

But then... the master had turned traitor and Ornstein had never used his summon sign again, stuffing the last few sun light medals into a random chest in Anor Londo.

"That doesn't matter at the moment, I am here to help you in person, right?", Ornstein said, not wanting to dwell in these bad memories.

"And I am very glad about that.", Tempest said, pocketing the red sign soapstone. Ornstein could hardly imagine the little Storm into a duel and chuckled to himself as they descended the tower, thinking about in which kind of chaos he would get himself into.

"What put you into such a happy mood?", Tempest grumbled.

"Oh, nothing.", Ornstein said and toned the chuckle down while still grinning to himself, gladly hidden by his helmet.

After a good while of walking the both of them arrived a the bottom of the tower.

"So what was the point of going up all these stairs only to go down again?", Tempest asked, taking a look around. He briskly walked to the only door in the room and tried the handle but it wouldn't budge.

"The fog gate it is then.", Tempest said warily. Ornstein knew why. Behind fog gates there often was a powerful foe. Tempest closed his eyes and braced himself as he walked through the fog gate, shuddering at the strange sensation on his skin. When he opened them again he overlooked some yard and in the middle of the yard was...

"What in the world is that, Ornstein?", Tempest asked, pointing to the mass of bodies, spears and shields.

"Looks like one of Seath's failed experiments.", Ornstein mused. The way the bodies were lined up reminded him of of a phalanx formation, the spear silver knights had been very good at taking this in. "I would mostly compare that to a phalanx formation, one that has gone horribly wrong. Shall we take care of them?"

Tempest gave Ornstein a nod and then the both of them charged forward. The good thing about these bodies was that they were slow, the bad thing was that there were many of them. Every time Ornstein took one of them down another seemed to take its place and he could see Tempest struggling besides him, receiving a nasty wound from a thrown spear and drinking from his Estus once in a while.

The battle felt like it lasted over five minutes but then finally the last of them fell. Tempest tried to drink from his Estus flask and then turned it around, peeking into it with one eye only to confirm that it was empty.

"Well, great. And no bonfire in sight.", he sighed and counted his humanities, frowning at them. He wasn't keen on having to use them to heal himself.

"So where should we head?", Ornstein asked. Tempest looked around. To the left he spotted some stairs, to the right a room with pillars and straight in front of them was another big door. Hm, the door looked familiar. Tempest walked over and it let itself push open. His eyes grew wide when he saw the familiar glimmer of the bonfire.

"Oh yes, that is exactly what I needed right now!", he said and rushed to sit at the bonfire, eagerly filling up his Estus flask. Ornstein followed him and saw how he burned some humanity in the fire, making the flame glow brighter.

"I am glad you have your Estus flask filled up, but that also means that the phalanx formation will be back.", Ornstein said. That resting at bonfires prompted every Undead around the Bonfire to come back was one of the things he didn't understand... it was just natural to Lordran.

"Oh right.", Tempest sighed. "Oh well, we will be able to take on it again. Besides, it gave quite a few souls." Ornstein watched with interest as Tempest offered some souls to the bonfire in exchange for soul power. He never could choose what he wanted, for him the soul power just got added to his own and he had to train his body to see an effect.

For Undead it was different. After Tempest was done with feeding souls to the bonfire he stood up and grabbed his weapons. "Let's go back there!", he said. "From a logical standpoint, we should be done with exploring this place soon!"

"Lead the way, little Storm.", Ornstein said and followed Tempest as he rushed off and locked the phalanx into another fight, this time only needing one sip of Estus. Like usual, the little Storm was extremely adaptable and learned with every mistake he made. It also had been the way he had managed to beat him and Smough after countless tries.

After the Phalanx was an unmoving mass of flesh and shield and spears again (not that it hadn't been that earlier, but at least now it wasn't moving), Tempest took another look around and went to the room with the pillars. Ornstein followed him and spotted a door. Tempest walked over and tried it.

"Locked.", he said. "Then let's head to the other side first."

Ornstein followed as Tempest fleet-footed scuttled through the snow and climbed up some stairs. "Stairs again.", he muttered. "I hope they don't plan on sending us up and up and up again."

"I take that you don't take kindly to the stairs in this place.", Ornstein said.

"I don't want to see stairs ever again for a whole week after we are done here!", Tempest shouted. To his surprise, after they had climbed the stairs the next stairs let down. "Oh, nevermind.", he said and headed to the stairs but stopped when he saw a path to the left: "Let's take a look outside."

The stairs led to a path which was guarded by some hollows. Tempest cut down the one carrying the torch while Ornstein cut down the regular one. Tempest then walked further until he kneeled down to pick something up. Ornstein silently watched as he saw two more hollows climb up from the walls and then wordlessly stabbed them both at once with his spear.

Tempest looked around in surprise when Ornstein moved and just shrugged when he saw the two corpses. "It appears this was a dead end.", he said.

They headed back to the stairs that led downwards but Tempest didn't go down them but instead stared down.

"What's wrong, little Storm?", Ornstein asked.

"I don't like the aura radiating from this place.", Tempest said. "It looks dark and I don't want to know what kind of horrors are down there. Yet. Let's explore the yard instead."

"Your choice.", Ornstein said and stepped aside so that Tempest could go past him.

Ornstein asked himself what was that interesting at the yard, so far all he could see were a lot of corpses on sticks. "I actually ask myself who executed them all.", he said to Tempest as he inspected the rather gruesome sight.

"I don't know and I don't want to know.", Tempest said and got into a battle stance when he saw a hollow carrying a torch stumbling up the stairs. "Careful, there is another one!", he whispered to Ornstein as the first one attacked and got stabbed with Tempest's sword. Ornstein took the other down with one swipe of his weapon.

"There is another one!", Tempest pointed in the distance and stormed off. Ornstein sighed and slowly followed him, not being surprised in the slightest when the little Storm got caught in a pincer attack by two hollows. Even though their weapons were hardly sharp, it still caused enough damage for Tempest to fumble for his Estus flask while Ornstein took care of every hollow who dared to try and approach him.

"There seems to be nothing of interest here.", Ornstein said, walking up to the ledge, they seemed to have reached the border of the Painted World. He looked down but couldn't make anything out.

"You are right, there are just a few souls lying around.", Tempest said, picking them up regardless. He froze for a brief moment when he bend down the third time and looked back over his shoulder, confirming the sound he had just heard.

"Ornstein, there is an invader!", he quickly sputtered out, sounding strangely amused, prompting the dragon slayer to turn around, hardly able to contain his laughter.

"What kind of headwear is THAT?!", Ornstein said. It could only be called ridiculous. The invader was clad in light armour, probably a mage, and this wasn't looking too out of the ordinary, if not for the headwear that made them look like an oversized mushroom.

Both Tempest and Ornstein stopped laughing when they readied a pyromancy flame and fire pillars shot out of the ground, nearly roasting them both alive.

"Well, we have an advanced pyromancer here.", Ornstein hissed. Of course it had to be his weakness, he never had been good with handling fire since the dragon war ended.

"Stay back, Ornstein, I will stagger them and you finish it!", Tempest said, rushing forward, swinging his sword and managing to get a good hit on the phantom before their next spell was completed. They back stepped and readied a whip, Ornstein could hear Tempest cry out in pain when he was hit with it, but the little Storm rallied himself up and gave the phantom another heavy slash, enough for them to stagger. Ornstein used the opportunity to leap over and finish the job, the distinct sound of an Undead vanishing resonated.

"That would have been nasty if they would have been able to use their pyromancy without trouble. That was a good plan, little Storm.", he said.

"You praising me? What is it, my birthday?", Tempest said jokingly but his face blushed at the compliment. He collected the left over humanity of the phantom and picked up their weapon that for some strange reason hadn't left with their phantom.

"I think we probably can leave this place and go elsewhere.", Ornstein suggested but Tempest had his eyes on the ground, following something that Ornstein couldn't see. After a a short while he rounded a corner and came back with a scroll.

"How did you know there would be magic hidden there?", Ornstein said.

"A message told me.", Tempest said.

"Oh.", Ornstein said, "The orange guidance soap stone. Help from another world."

Tempest nodded with a bright smile: "It's pyromancy I've never seen before."

"Be careful with it, this place was used to get rid of anything that was deemed dangerous.", Ornstein said. "Maybe speak to a specialist first before you use it."

"Alright. I will show it to Laurentius the next time we stop at Fire Link.", Tempest said and headed back to where the now dead phalanx was lying around. He looked around, determining which path to go next and headed to a small graveyard arena.

"There are graves here so people died before they became undead.", he said.

"Or they all came back to life and these are the hollows we are seeing here.", Ornstein said.

"Possible.", Tempest said and headed into the direction of what was looking like a well. He stopped in front of it and looked down. "I don't like this, it looks dark and scary.", he said.

"We have been to the catacombs and the Tomb of Giants, it surely was darker and scarier there.", Ornstein scoffed as he shoved Tempest down the well, who gave out a surprised cry. A heavy thud and a sip of Estus later Ornstein followed him, landing on both of his feet without trouble like usual.

"You just have waited for your chance to do this again.", Tempest grumbled.

"Possible.", Ornstein grinned.

Down the well there actually was a path. "Normally wells don't look like this.", Ornstein said. Tempest did a few steps forward then stopped.

"Do you hear this?"

"Hear what?"

"A sound like... something clattering or moving at a high speed?"

Ornstein shrugged and then both of them flinched when a bonewheel rushed past them.

"Oh please nooo.", Tempest said, both hands going up to hold his head.

"And this time we don't have the height advantage.", Ornstein said. "Ready your pyromancy, little Storm, we take them from afar."

"Them?", Tempest said, eyes growing wide.

"Listen, skeletons never come alone.", Ornstein sighed.

After Tempest had readied his pyromancy flame he peeked around the corner which prompted the bonewheel to attack. A fireball and a lighting spear later it was only a charred mass of ash and bones on the ground.

"This looks like a maze...", Ornstein said. "Go first, little Storm, you can heal yourself up when a bonewheel hits you."

"That doesn't mean that it hurts less.", Tempest said but took the lead anyway, knowing that Ornstein was right.

The only way to go was left until they had a strange wall.

"I guess we have to go ano...", Tempest started and stared in awe when Ornstein just punched the wall and it vanished.

"I knew it. That wall looked far too phoney to be real.", he said in a triumphant voice.

"Well, I guess that answers the question where to go.", Tempest said. They followed the path further, taking out another bonewheel in the process which almost managed to shred Tempest into little pieces and then reached a dead end after another fake wall was unveiled.

Something glistened into the water. Tempest picked it up. "A key.", he said.

"Maybe it is for the locked door we saw earlier?", Ornstein suggested.

"Let's check it out later.", Tempest said and turned around, the both of them once again navigating the maze, taking care of every bonewheel in the way until they found some stairs going up.

"Huh, I was expecting a lot but not stairs down here.", Tempest said, ascending them. The only thing in the room in front of them was a toxic hollow. One that didn't even attack.

"What the...?", Tempest said, going around the hollow and even poking it. "It's nice to see that they are not aggressive for once."

"It looks like it is holding something.", Ornstein said. Tempest went to take a look which made the hollow aggressive all of a sudden. A stabbing and a coughing later because the putrid smell filled the room, Tempest picked up another pyromancy scroll. "Definitely going to talk to Laurentius about it.", he wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes.

Back in the maze they nearly got themselves lost until Ornstein unveiled a fake wall that led into a far larger room. After the claustrophobic feel of the maze it was a nice change.

That feeling changed once Tempest heard the clattering sound of what only could be another bonewheel. With a sigh he pressed himself against the wall and just said: "Bonewheel." to Ornstein who did the same.

The bonewheel managed to race right through the space the both of them had created and once it got up searching for where its prey had gone a sword and a spear simultaneously hit its skull and it didn't get up again.

"There are surely more in the large room.", Ornstein murmured. "We should try to lure them out one by one. Little Storm?"

Tempest nodded with another sigh. He knew he was the obvious choice for being the decoy with him not being able to die and stuff and he didn't want to know how long it would take for Ornstein to heal when he would get hit with that razor sharp blades. Though the thought of nursing Ornstein back to health and feeding him soup when he couldn't move was intriguing. But, for now Tempest preferred Ornstein well and healthy, so he grabbed his sword, lighted his pyromancy flame and sneaked out into the room.

His eyes had gotten used to the dark enough so that he could count them. One, two, three, four, five. Five of them! Damn, he couldn't make a mistake or he would be in trouble. And probably back at the bonfire.

It was good that there were a few pillars in the room. Tempest used them to hide and one by one managed to lure the bonewheels near the maze where Ornstein waited and took them down with his charged spear.

Once the last bonewheel had fallen Ornstein stepped out in the room and Tempest looked down, the floor was filled with swallow, which made sense, they had gotten into a well.

"Um, Ornstein.", Tempest started. "Wouldn't it have been possible to get all of them at once by shocking the water with your spear?"

"That would have hit you too, little Storm.", Ornstein said. "And me. My armour may protect against lightning, but a full on shock I still would have suffered."

"Oh.", Tempest said, feeling a bit stupid. He had thought this stuff would have been easier, but Ornstein had a very good point.

"I surely hope coming down here was worth it.", Ornstein said. "Have you found anything?"

"I haven't looked yet.", Tempest said. "But I will now."

The small Undead gave the room a thorough searching. He picked up some souls from the ground and then stopped in front of a handle. "This is bound to open something.", he said and turned it. Nothing happened in the well but the both of them heard a sound coming from above. It sounded like something heavy had gotten shifted around.

"It certainly has done something up above.", Ornstein said. "I guess that means we can leave this place. Good. My feet are wet and cold and the harsh climate outside doesn't make it better."

"Yeah, let's go.", Tempest said and headed to the opposite end of the room where he spotted a ladder. After they had both climbed it, Tempest stopped and got some cloth out which he handed Ornstein. "To dry your feet.", he said as he got rid of his boots to do the same.

"How considerate, little Storm.", Ornstein said and worked on getting his sabatons off.

"I don't want you to get a cold. You can get a cold, can't you?", Tempest said. He himself hadn't gotten sick since he turned undead and even if would happen, Estus probably would be able to heal it without trouble.

"I can and I prefer not to have one.", Ornstein confirmed for him. After Tempest had dried his own feet off and wrung out the water from his boots he glanced at Ornstein who spend a minute to dry his sabatons before putting them back on.

Once he was done, Tempest jumped up and walked back into the yard. A glance into the tower told him that the large wooden door had opened. "The handle has opened something.", he said. Ornstein stood in front of the statue that was standing in the middle of the yard.

"Hasn't this statue faced the other way earlier?", he asked.

Tempest shrugged. He hadn't paid attention to the statue at all, he had been too busy to fight off the phalanx.

"So little Storm, are we going there or not?", Ornstein asked.

Tempest shook his head, too late realizing that Ornstein hadn't asked a yes or no question but managed to present the key from earlier before the dragon slayer could question him. "I would like to find out if this key opens the locked door first."

"Very well.", Ornstein said.

The key clicked in place and the wooden door swung open only to reveal... "Stairs again?!", Tempest cried out and begrudgingly followed them with Ornstein staying close to him. It took only a short while for a toxic hollow to run up to them. Tempest stepped to the side so that Ornstein's far longer weapon could take care of it.

"I have to thank you for taking care of this obnoxious task.", Tempest said.

"It's fine.", Ornstein said. "It is oddly satisfying to make them pop."

Tempest wrinkled his nose and followed the next flight of stairs, another toxic hollow was standing there, this time up above and shooting pyromancy. "Ugh, of course.", Tempest said and reached for his bow, firing an arrow right in the middle of the hollow's swollen head.

"You are right, this is oddly satisfying.", Tempest grinned, facing Ornstein as he walked up the rest of the stairs.

"Told you so.", Ornstein said and then shifted his stance, growling: "Little Storm, corvian behind you."

"Wha..?", Tempest said and got a clean kick into the face before he had fully registered what had happened. "Ouch.", he rubbed his chin as he brandished his sword and together with Ornstein's far more coordinated attack it fell.

It seemed like they had been run into another dead end. There was a huge hole in the ground which Tempest looked down and then threw a prism stone down. The following loud bang was enough to tell them that this fall would be deadly.

"Hm, there is another one of these bird woman up there.", Tempest said, pointing to the roof.

"They are called corvians.", Ornstein said, readying his spear and following Tempest who already had stormed up to take the corvian by surprise. Only to be taken by surprise by them because that whole situation had very much been a trap.

"I should have seen this coming...", Ornstein said, a bit embarrassed that he hadn't seen through the trap as Tempest laid on the ground from being kicked by three of the corvians at once. He leapt into them and made his spear sparkle to give the little Storm some breathing room. Tempest used the opportunity to heal his wounds with a sip of Estus.

"That was mean.", he growled as got up and engaged one of them into battle while Ornstein fended off two of them at once. After Ornstein had made sure to injure their wings they weren't that dangerous anymore and dead soon and when he turned around to help the little Storm he saw that he had learned from him and cut the wings of his foe too. With his shield he managed to block the attacks and then staggered it with a beautiful combo of his sword. One that Ornstein had taught him.

"Remind me to not run into such an obvious trap anymore.", Tempest said, his face flushing red, if anger or embarrassment Ornstein didn't knew.

"I remind you all the time to not storm off.", Ornstein said.

"I hope coming up here was worth it.", Tempest said and picked something up, a scroll. "It's a miracle.", he said a few moments later. "Can you take a look?"

Ornstein stepped closer to read the text on the scroll. He shuddered a bit when he realized just whose miracle it was. "I haven't seen art of her in a long time... the goddess of sin, Velka.", he murmured. "Lord Gwyn didn't like her very much and so it doesn't surprise me that her miracles have been banned to his place."

"What does it do?", Tempest asked.

"In short, if you use this miracle, no magic can be used around a certain area for a limited while.", Ornstein said. "You probably guess why Lord Gwyn didn't like Velka very much."

Tempest simply nodded and hopped down the stairs, Ornstein followed him. Instead of going back to the yard however, Tempest followed another little path where two other toxic hollows resided. Tempest missed the shot with his bow for the first one so that Ornstein took care of it but managed to pop the second one just fine.

"If I would have known how fun this is I would have fought more than just the two at the beginning.", he murmured.

"Be glad that I gave you the tip to stay away from them. I don't want to know how it feels when you accidentally breath in their toxins.", Ornstein said.

In the small yard they were there was only a statue... at closer inspection it was a blacksmith, petrified. Tempest picked up something that he hold in his hands. A very unusual ember. Ornstein shuddered when he saw it.

"Of course a blacksmith using this ember would be banished...", he whispered.

"What is so bad about this ember?", Tempest asked. "I agree it looks unusual, but it feels warm and... familiar."

"Of course it would feel fine for you, that thing is from occult nature. A dark ember. And well, you have a dark soul."

"Huh.", Tempest said, pocketing the ember. "I will give this to Andre later."

Tempest followed the path they had come back but then stopped, leaning against the wall made of wooden planks. "Phew, I hope we are out of here soon, I just start to realize how exhausting this whole trip is."

"And that says the one who is Undead and doesn't need to eat or drink.", Ornstein said.

"Hey, I can still get muscle cramps.", Tempest complained and before he could say something else the wooden boards smashed under his "weight" and he fell down with them.

"Ouch...", Tempest said and got up, presenting a weapon when he came back to Ornstein. "I found this when I fell."

"Hm, pretty sure that some of the hollows here once has been a pardoner of Velka now...", Ornstein said, inspecting the rapier. "The miracle, the typical weapon for her followers..."

"There is some history in this painting.", Tempest whispered.

"Whatever it was, it doesn't matter anymore. Now they are all hollow.", Ornstein said. "Let's finally find the one he came here for, little Storm."

"Alright.", Tempest put the rapier into his bag and the both of them made the trek to the now open door in the tower. A large bridge was seen. At closer inspection, two hollows and a large knight guarded it.

"That is all?", Tempest said. "I thought a bridge like this would be guarded better."

Tempest was off before Ornstein could say: "Wait, little Storm." and of course said little Storm was getting quickly overwhelmed by the now very obvious trap.

Ornstein sighed and rushed in to help him, taking two hollows down at once and pinning one under his foot as another one attacked. It gave Tempest enough time to drink from his Estus and get up.

"I thought I told you to remind me to not run into traps anymore.", Tempest grumbled.

"I thought I told you not to storm off all the time.", Ornstein retorted as Tempest got rid of one of the sharpshooters with an angry yell.

Soon all the hollows were down and only the large knight remained.

"He looks like the one in the Undead Parish.", Tempest said. "Parry should do the trick, but I could never find a way to counterattack."

"That is a knight of Berenike.", Ornstein said. "Huge for humans like you see. They can be described as literal walls. But together we should be able to take him down easily."

"Alright, I'll go first.", Tempest said as the knight noticed them and turned around with his big sword raised.

All the training surely paid off because Tempest managed to easily parry the blow of the massive sword which made Ornstein able to get a good hit in once the knight was staggered, but not enough to actually take it down. One repeat of that process later it collapsed to the ground and now the way to a fog gate was free.

"This must be it...", Ornstein said. "I can feel her presence..."

"I am so excited.", Tempest said and crossed the fog gate, Ornstein followed him after a few seconds, he still needed to steel himself.

The sight Tempest saw in front of him he could only describe as... beautiful. And HUGE. The woman in front of him was easily thrice his size (and he thought Ornstein was tall) and was wearing a fur coat in all white and was that a fluffy tail?! She also was possessing long white hair and her skin looked as delicate as the snow around her if not for the horns and scales dotting her face. In her hands she was holding the largest scythe he had ever seen.

She noticed his presence and turned around, speaking in a soft and gentle voice: "Who art thou? One of us, thou art not. If thou hast misstepped into this world, plunge down from the plank, and hurry home. If thou seekest I, thine desires shall be requited not."

"I, uh...", Tempest stuttered. "My friend wanted to talk to you."

He stepped aside to let Ornstein through who hadn't uttered a single thing once the woman had spoken.

"Priscilla.", Ornstein said.

"Dragon Slayer.", Priscilla said. "Thou art not having any business here."

"I've...", Ornstein started, searching for words. "I've come to free you from this place. You have been greatly wronged by the gods of Anor Londo and the last one of them wishes to undo what their father has done to you."

"I have no desire to come with thee.", Priscilla said, her voice had turned from the gentle and pleading tone into something that was pure ice.

"But... why?", Ornstein said, clearly having expected a different answer.

"This land is peaceful, its inhabitants kind.", Priscilla said and Tempest cocked his head until he had eye contact with Ornstein. He hadn't found a single kind inhabitant in this place chuck full of Hollows. "And thou dost not belong, Dragon Slayer, as well as thine friend."

Tempest pointed to him, saying: "Who, me?", but got shut down by Ornstein.

"Are you absolutely sure?", he asked. "Anor Londo has changed. The ones who have imprisoned you aren't there anymore. The war has been long over."

"Tell me, Dragon Slayer.", Priscilla spoke again, "Is there a single dragon left?"

Ornstein didn't answer but instead looked down at the ground.

"The world outside has no room for me as the world in here has no room for thee.", Priscilla said. "I beg of thee, plunge down from the plank and hurry home."

"Even when I tell you that your sibling is still out there?", Ornstein said. Priscilla's eyes turned wide but then she averted her gaze.

"I cannot leave this place.", he whispered. "It's... they need me. Please leave me alone and hurry home. And... take care of mine sibling..."

"Very well.", Ornstein said. "At least nobody can say from us that we haven't tried." Without another word he walked over the plunge Priscilla had spoken off. Tempest followed him, eyeing a corpse that laid there. Wasn't that that ridiculous headwear of the invader...?

"Wait.", Ornstein turned around when Priscilla's voice sounded another time.

"What is it?", he asked.

"Mine father... how is he?"

Ornstein and Tempest both looked at each other and then awkwardly every where but at Priscilla. It was Ornstein who spoke next: "I am sorry, but... he had to be laid down. He had gotten mad and had become a danger for everyone including himself."

Tempest was thinking about speaking up, wasn't the truth that he had needed his soul for the lord vessel but decided against it. It seemed to be Ornstein's way to deliver a harsh truth... with a comforting lie.

"I... see.", Priscilla said and turned around. "I thank thee for telling me."

Priscilla didn't spoke again and Ornstein turned around too. Tempest had fallen on his knees and inspected the fall. "There is no way we will survive this fall.", he said.

"You will.", Ornstein said and pushed Tempest down who yelped in surprise before taking the jump himself.

When Tempest came to himself, they were outside of the painting, back in Anor Londo.

"..That felt like a big waste of time.", Tempest said.

"I wouldn't say that.", Ornstein said. "At least I could give her some closure."

"At least...", Tempest said, looking back at the painting, asking himself just how many beings had to suffer like Priscilla just because one god had decided to start a war. 

(Author's note: Ancient english is hard! When I made a mistake please tell me so that I can correct it.

I have a few specific headcanons about the knights of Gwyn having used soap stones, mostly because Sif has a freaking summon sign in Manus boss room. When Sif had one, than surely Artorias had one. And Ornstein too.)


	24. Chapter 24

Summary: Ornstein and Tempest spend a quiet moment with each other. Tempest tells Ornstein about his life. They visit the Dark Root Basin to take care of the last black knight, Havel and the hydra.

(Author's note: This story doesn't leave me alone lately and so I had to write the next chapter. I am close to some very important points in it and I am excited to get them down on paper. I hope you enjoy and I am looking forward to see your thoughts in the comments.)

"I see.", Gwyndolin said, hands folded in their lap, gaze turned down at the table. "So she didn't want to come back."

"Yes.", Ornstein said, "She told us that the Painted World needed her. And that the outside world didn't have any room for her."

Gwyndolin let out a sigh: "I can't blame her, really. After all, it was mine father who started a world without dragons."

"And I did my fair share to help him with it.", Ornstein sighed again.

Tempest looked back and forth between the two of them clutching a cup of still warm tea, before saying: "But, uh, hey, we still have the doll!" He produced it out of his pockets and laid it on the table. "With that you could visit her anytime, right? I mean... if she changes her mind..."

"Not a bad idea, little Storm.", Ornstein smiled. "Gwyndolin, how about you keep the doll? Maybe Priscilla just needs some time. If she wants to come out, you have the key to help her."

"You are correct, both of you, Ornstein and the Chosen Undead.", Gwyndolin smiled back, making Tempest frown when they used the title he had never asked for. "And I would like to be able for the child to meet their sister once they hatch."

"Right, the egg. How is it?", Ornstein asked.

"It has been in stasis for so long that it will take a while for it to hatch. I made sure to lay it into a warm nest so that they won't be uncomfortable.", Gwyndolin had a very warm smile on their face as they said that, convincing Ornstein that they were the right person to take care of Priscilla's sibling.

"Have you already chosen a name?", Tempest chimed in, drawing both the gazes of Ornstein and Gwyndolin at him.

"Ah, no.", they said. "I... wanted to wait until I meet them before I give them a name and... I want to make sure that they are... comfortable with the name I will choose, so I plan to not give them a name until they understand how they feel about themselves."

"Ah, hm..", Tempest said, not really getting what Gwyndolin was implying but Ornstein caught on.

"..It is because of your upbringing, right?"

Gwyndolin nodded and their face fell a bit, a certain sadness shining through it: "I never had a choice, mine father raising me into what he wanted to be. I swore to myself should I ever raise a child, that I would not make the same mistake. They shall be able to grow up as their own self."

"That is... very admirable.", Ornstein said and smiled at Gwyndolin. "You will be a great parent to them, I am sure of it."

"Thank you, Ornstein.", Gwyndolin said and while the both of them still talked a bit Tempest's thoughts went to his own mother, wondering if she was still around. Just how many years had he spent in this cell?

After their tea was drunk Tempest and Ornstein said their goodbyes to Gwyndolin and walked to the cathedral, Tempest having promised to make a meal for Ornstein after they returned from the Painted World.

"I have to be honest, I didn't get what Gwyndolin was saying about names, but it made me wonder one thing.", Tempest said. "How did you get your name, Ornstein?"

"Me?", Ornstein said, a bit lost in thoughts.

"Yes, you or do you see another dragon slayer in golden armour called Ornstein around here?", Tempest said, making Ornstein chuckle.

"Oh, there once were many dragon slayers, but I was the only one who was called Ornstein.", he said. "The answer to your question may feel rather trivial. I was named after the musician who founded the orphanage I grew up in."

"...You grew up in an orphanage?", Ornstein could see some concern in Tempest's eyes as he looked up to him, trying to meet his gaze, like usual not really knowing where Ornstein's actual eyes were. "Were your... you know... with the dragon war and all..."

"What? No. My parents weren't killed by a dragon.", Ornstein said. "Or at least I think this. I don't know what happened to them. I was a foundling."

"What?!", Tempest gasped. "Oh, Ornstein, I am so sorry to hear."

"Little Storm, that was a thousand years ago. I am long over it. Besides, I don't think my parents are even alive anymore. And even if they were, why would I want to reconnect with someone who left their newborn child alone?"

"I guess... that makes sense...", Tempest said and started to walk a bit faster, wanting to get ahead of Ornstein but because of Ornstein's long strides the dragon slayer caught up to Tempest in almost an instance.

"What about you, little Storm?", Ornstein asked. "Where did you get your name from?"

"Oh, how nice that you show some interest in me for once.", Tempest grinned but regretted the remark when he felt Ornstein's glare. Their talk in the Painted World about Tempest's desires and wishes was still fresh in his mind and he should acknowledge every effort of the dragon slayer to get better.

"I once asked my mom about this. Because, you know, I found that Tempest isn't an usual name. And when I asked her she said 'You were kicking up a storm while still in my belly and that's when I knew that I would have a very energetic child'. And so she picked a name for me that would be similar to Storm.", Tempest fell silent after this story. He had to admit that he really started to miss his mom. And the little tavern they used to run. What would he give to get this life back, but... if he had never become Undead he never had met Ornstein. He wondered if his mom would believe him if he told her that he had beaten the famous dragon slayer from the legends? And even more when he told her that they had become friends?

"She chose the perfect name for you then, little Storm, because you sure like to storm off without warning and leave a mess to clean up. Like, you know, when a real storm is coming.", Ornstein said jokingly.

"Only that the Storm in question is me.", Tempest grinned at Ornstein.

"That's nothing to be proud about.", Ornstein said but chuckled.

"You know, I am glad.", Tempest suddenly said.

"Glad about what?", Ornstein asked.

"I am glad that we became friends.", Tempest smiled at him, that smile that made Ornstein's heart flutter every single time and he quickly looked away. He didn't want to see the hurt on Tempest's face once he realized that he had been lied to this whole time. If only there would be another way...

Maybe Ornstein should make sure that the last days of the little Storm at least were good ones, so he shook the thoughts aside and said: "Actually... I am glad about this too."

Tempest gave him a side glance, but then broke out in a big smile and stormed off, yelling: "I am going to cook one delicious meal for you, just you wait!"

Once Ornstein caught up with the little Storm he was locked in a fight against the giant sentinels who guarded the entrance to the cathedral. He watched amusedly for a while before joining and saving Tempest from what would have a very painful encounter with a halberd.

"You forgot that they are aggressive when I am not at your side, what?", Ornstein said and Tempest gave a sheepish nod before blurting out: "But hey, I almost killed one of them myself!"

"I noticed. You are getting better, little Storm.", Ornstein said and the both of them walked into the cathedral. Tempest walked to the kitchen and Ornstein stayed behind to get out of his armour and freshen himself up. He was shuddered a bit. The Painted World had been cold, after food a bath should be in place. They could continue with their quest the next day. It wasn't like the flame would die out tomorrow.

As Ornstein entered the kitchen he was overwhelmed by a most delicious smell. Tempest turned around and nearly fell off the little stool he needed to use to reach the stove, catching himself just in time. "Oh, woah, hey, Ornstein.", he said.

"What are you cooking?", Ornstein asked.

"It's a dish we often would make in our tavern.", Tempest said. "It is made by cooking a chicken with some vegetables in a sauce which base is made of vine. This goes with a lot of garnish, but I chose to make some noodles."

"I hope it tastes as delicious as it smells.", Ornstein said. While he still thought that Smough's cooking was unrivalled, Tempest's was a close second. The little Storm surely knew what he was doing in the kitchen and it was apparent that he had grown up in a tavern.

"I can guarantee that it is delicious.", Tempest said, stirring the sauce. "I wish I could eat it myself, but everything I eat tastes like nothing. Only Estus tastes like something. And it tastes like I imagine flames would taste if you could swallow them."

"In a sense I can be glad that I still can taste, but... sometimes I wish I wouldn't have need to eat. Would have save me some rather awkward situations.", Ornstein said.

Tempest stopped stirring and hopped down from the stool: "Huh? But, Ornstein, eating is so much fun. That I can't taste anymore is what I regret about being undead the most."

"And not the threat of hollowing or that you literally can't die?", Ornstein asked.

Tempest put both hands in his hips: "That is different. That is stuff I have to deal with and besides, there have been tales of Undead who have been around for years and didn't hollow. It is all about the determination I heard. And I decided that I won't hollow as long as you are around."

Ornstein's heart warmed at Tempest's speech but at the same time dropped in his stomach. The little Storm truly didn't deserved to be let on like this. But he was a knight and he had to listen to his lord and Ornstein wasn't allowed to say the truth.

"But like, eating... I don't get why being Undead takes away our taste. We may not need food anymore, but it would have been nice to still be able to taste it, you know.", Tempest continued.

"At least that also means that you don't need any breaks to use the privy.", Ornstein said.

"That... feels like the lesser problem.", Tempest chuckled and got back on the stool to continue his cooking.

Once he was done and served the meal to Ornstein he sat opposite to him and watched with this excitement in his eyes as usual, wanting to know if Ornstein liked the meal he had cooked for him.

As soon as Ornstein tasted the dish his face lit up. It was truly a wonderful taste.

"That tastes marvellous, little Storm.", Ornstein said and Tempest's whole face brightened up.

"I am glad that you like it.", he smiled, the little smile that always made Ornstein's heart flutter and he quickly looked elsewhere, down on the dish, trying to search for something to talk about.

"So, uh... why are you always so keen about knowing if I liked the dish?", Ornstein asked.

"Are you serious, Ornstein?", Tempest huffed. "Every cook wants to know if their creation were to the liking of the patron. Well, you are not my patron, but I still cook for you, so of course I want to know what you like and what you don't like."

"Makes sense. This was a stupid question anyway.", Ornstein took another fork of the food, trying to taste which herbs Tempest used but had to give up, the sauce had amalgamated into its own brand new taste.

"...So, little Storm, you said you grew up in a tavern? What did you do there?", Ornstein asked.

"Oh? You really are interested in stuff of my past? That hasn't to do with me being undead?", Tempest seemed to vibrate on his seat.

"...Let's just say... you were right back in the Painted World. I have barely asked about stuff that you want or how your life once has been... I... want to try and make up for it.", Ornstein reluctantly admitted.

"Well then.", Tempest smiled again. "To be honest, my life wasn't very exciting. I am sure you lived through a thousand adventures before I was even born. Like you said, I grew up in a tavern. I was raised there by my mom."

"What about your father?", Ornstein asked.

"He died when I was still little, I can't remember him much. I think he fell down some stairs. My mom never married anew and raised me on her own. Our tavern was well visited so we never had a problem with money. When I was old enough to walk and carry dishes I already started to help out by serving the customers, when I wasn't at school of course."

"So you visited a school?"

"Only for basic stuff like reading and writing and how to calculate.", Tempest waved off. "It was clear for me that one day I would take over the tavern, so I was more interested in learning cooking. My mom taught me how to cook all our dishes and encouraged me to experiment. I think when I was around 13 or 14 we started to include some of my dishes also in the menu. Sometimes people were even asking for a dish especially cooked by me. You should have seen how proud my mom was of me."

"It sounded like the two of you were close...", Ornstein said, staring at a piece of meat on his fork, lost in thoughts.

"Yes, of course, we spend a lot of time with each other and also experienced each other in high stress situations like the rush hour in the tavern where every dish had to be cooked as soon as possible.", Tempest continued. "...I said it wasn't that exciting, but for me, it was the most exciting life. Sure, I always would go and watch the knights, but I was certain that I never would be a part of them. I simply looked forward to them coming into the tavern and get a nice dish after a hard day on patrol."

Ornstein had to smile at Tempest's face when he talked about his old life. He seemed to have really enjoyed it and his face lighting up like this was just beyond adorable. Ornstein settled on watching the little Storm for a bit, laying his fork down.

"Ah, don't tell me you are already full, Ornstein! You haven't eaten anything the whole day!"

"What?", Ornstein blushed a little bit, he had gotten carried away. "Oh, I still plan to eat the rest. It is excellent. I just...", was getting sidetracked looking at you.. Of course Ornstein didn't finish this sentence and instead said: "So, um, do you have any funny stories about the tavern?" in an desperate attempt to change the subject.

"Oh, there are loads!", Tempest raised his arms and pictured a circle with them. "But one that always will be embedded into my mind, was the day where I was serving the dishes to the patron. It was a busy day and so I was running back and forth from the kitchen all day. And then, when I got the next dish and headed for the table to deliver it I managed to stumbled over a loose wooden board and fell! But! You probably think the dish was ruined. It wasn't. I was quick-witted enough to raise it above my head and though a little bit of it spilled of course, I managed to get up and deliver it to the table."

Ornstein stared at Tempest with wide eyes: "That doesn't sound very funny. Wasn't that painful?"

"I am getting to this part.", Tempest grinned. "So I pulled myself up and delivered the meal and said my usual 'Please enjoy your meal' and stuff, but the patrons at the table just stared at me and eventually one of them pointed out that I had a nosebleed, like, a really bad one and it had already stained all my clothes and it looked like someone had punched me into the face but in reality it had been because I had fell face first on the floor and I literally hadn't noticed that. I wasn't in pain, I didn't notice that blood was coming out of my mouth, I just wanted to get the dish to the patron safe."

"That can only be called dedication.", Ornstein murmured. "But I still can't believe that you found this funny."

"Probably because I was the only one in that tavern who found it funny.", Tempest grinned and drove a hand through his unruly hair. "I had to start laughing and was like, that I didn't even notice I got hurt when I fell and that it is a miracle that no blood got into the food and that is when I saw the blood on the floor and was like 'I need to wipe this up' and that was when my mom came running and made sure I was sitting still until the nosebleed stopped. That was when I realized how much it hurt, but I couldn't stop laughing about it because of how absurd the situation was. Later we found out that I actually broke my nose because of that fall."

"You are unbelievable, little Storm.", Ornstein smiled as the last fork of food found its way into his mouth. "So that is why your nose is a bit crooked."

"Yeah, it never got away.", Tempest smiled. "But my mom always said it looked charming."

It does look charming., Ornstein thought to himself as he pulled the empty plate away from him. "Thank you for the meal, little Storm, that must have been one of your best."

"I am glad that you enjoyed it.", Tempest smiled and got up, getting the plate to wash it off.

"It's pretty late, little Storm.", Ornstein said. "How about we take a bath, rest for the night and the next day we visit the Dark Root Basin for that last Black Knight that is still roaming around?"

"With pleasure.", Tempest said as he scrubbed the plate clean. "Do you want me to wash your hair?"

"No.", Ornstein said without hesitation and the both of them chuckled at how sudden it was.

After a good night's sleep the duo had warped to the Undead Parish and Tempest listened to the calming sound of Andre's hammer as he waited for Ornstein's nausea to pass. After a good minute had passed Ornstein gave Tempest a nod and the both descended the stairs. Tempest gave Andre a big smile and went to talk to him while Ornstein waited and caught a glimpse into the room that would lead outside of the abandoned church and into the forest. He frowned when he saw a big, bulky and very alive titanite demon in their way.

"Little Storm, what is that?", Ornstein asked when said individual came back to Ornstein with a newly enforced sword weighing in his hand.

"It's one of the big demons, of course.", Tempest said, squinting his eyes, as if asking himself if Ornstein couldn't see well anymore.

"I know what it is, I want to know why it is still alive.", Ornstein whisper-hissed.

"Because I ran away screaming of course.", Tempest replied and Ornstein could hear how the blacksmith behind them had to hold back a fit of laughter. He probably had seen the whole scene and Ornstein nearly joined the laughing fit as he imagined it in his head, but shook it off last second.

"Well, now it is in our way and how about we put it to rest? The blacksmith deity that is trapped within these demons surely will thank us for our service.", Ornstein said.

"Oh, alright.", Tempest face fell a bit flat. "But don't get mad at me when I have to refill my Estus after this fight."

"I won't.", Ornstein promised.

Half an hour later the both of them stood at the bonfire and Ornstein tapped his foot while Tempest refilled his Estus and searched for some humanity.

"You promised me you wouldn't get mad.", Tempest contritely said.

"I promised I wouldn't get mad for you having to refill your Estus. I never said I wouldn't get mad at you for dying. Twice."

"Hey, that damn polearm of the demon really hurt! And how should I know that it would swung it back? Also, aren't you supposed to protect me?!"

"I am there to make sure that you fulfil your mission.", Ornstein's foot tapping intensified and then died down as the dragon slayer let out a sigh. "Doesn't matter... it's dead now. Just... you need to practice how to dodge long ranged weapons better."

"I gladly practice it, but the polearm of the demon is ridiculous. Not even your spear is that long.", Tempest said and then, after a few seconds got red in the face and started to giggle when he realized just how ambiguous that had sounded.

"...I don't even want to know what is going in your head right now.", Ornstein shook his head in disbelief and descend the stairs, the blacksmith giving them a nod and... was that a thumbs up that Ornstein had spotted? What a way to start the day, with even the blacksmith getting all the wrong ideas about the kind of relationship he had with the little Storm.

"So you have seen the Black Knight in the basin? Which kind of weapon did they wield?", Ornstein asked as they walked through the now demon less room and into the lush and overgrown nature which was the edge of the Dark Root Forest.

"It looked similar to yours, but not quite when I remember correctly.", Tempest mused while he cut down some shrubbery that had come alive with his sword without even batting an eye. "It was all black, hm..." While Tempest continued trying to remember the weapon he flawlessly cut down every shrubbery blocking their way until they stood at the path that would lead into the basin.

"Ah, it was a halberd!", Tempest blurted out while Ornstein walked up to him and let a few moss clumps fall down in front of him.

"Huh?!", Tempest's big eyes looked Ornstein over who just gestured at the row of dead shrubbery and said: "Who would have known that you fight best while being deep lost in thought?"

"What, I have done that?!", Tempest's eyes grew wide. "...I don't even remember. I also don't know how I have done this. ...And now I think I can't do it again!"

"And that's what I am here for.", Ornstein sighed, readying his spear. "Let's head down the path. The Black Knight is down there, yes?"

Tempest nodded and slowly crept the path down hiding behind Ornstein.

It took only a short walk down the path until the Black Knight in question came into view, wielding a halberd like Tempest had observed. Ornstein turned around to face Tempest only to not see him and then realizing that the little Undead still hid behind his back.

"Out there and fight.", Ornstein said in a stern voice.

"I am afraid that I mess up...", Tempest said but came out of Ornstein's shadow and confronted the Black Knight and... promptly messed up the parry big time and got send flying. "Ouch.", Tempest said as he tried to get up from the floor, Ornstein already closing the distance between him and the Black Knight and crossing his spear with the halberd.

Both knights fought for dominance over the other until they separated and started to circle around, waiting for the other to make the first move. This one certainly had eaten up Artorias' teaching techniques, they felt like a formidable foe that maybe even would have been able to rank within the Knights of Gwyn.

However, suddenly black smoke emitted from the Black Knight and Ornstein could see a sword coming out of one of the armour joints and recognized, that the little Storm had attacked from the behind.

"Now, Ornstein.", Tempest yelled. "Finish it off!"

Ornstein didn't need to hear this twice and thrust his spear deep into the Black Knight which screeched and dissipated in that black smoke, only leaving the weapon behind that fell to the ground with a clank.

"Hey, nice, it left the halberd behind.", Tempest said and picked it up but struggled to stay upright as he tried to swing it. "Heavy...!", he groaned.

"These things were made to fight demons and worse.", Ornstein said. "That is why they are so big. You need enormous strength to lift them with one hand."

"It feels like I could manage with two...", Tempest said, weighing the weapon in his hand. "But I think I prefer the sword. After all, this was the weapon you trained me to use, Ornstein."

"Just because it is the most versatile and easiest to learn.", Ornstein said. "Now come, let's not dawdle here. You told me you have seen Havel around here. The Stone Warrior.", Ornstein added when Tempest gave him uncomprehending look.

"Aaah, yes, the guy with the giant club.", Tempest clapped in his hands. "Not far from here. There should also be a bonfire around here, so let's visit it first. I am not too sure if I can survive a single hit from this club."

"It's actually a dragon tooth.", Ornstein said. "Havel was one of the few humans who managed to kill a dragon on his own and the tooth of the dragon became his weapon. Incredibly strong for such a small race as yours."

"I am pretty sure he was at least taller than me. Everyone is taller than me.", Tempest blankly said as he walked along the path, stopping in front of a little cave. "The bonfire is in there, I just go touch it and then we can go and find Havel."

Once Tempest returned he asked: "Ornstein, why do you want to slay Havel? He's undead. Slaying him won't do anything."

"Remember what I told you in the asylum? When we were facing your hollow friend?", Ornstein asked.

"...Um...", Tempest squinted his eyes as he cogitated but then it came back to him. "Oh, the bit that Hollows can find their inner piece when it's the right person who slays them?"

Ornstein nodded: "Correct, that one."

"But...", Tempest said, "We don't even know if this is true. Maybe they just come back at the next bonfire and go wandering again..."

"It could be.", Ornstein said. "I say it's worth a try."

"But why are you interested in giving Havel peace?", Tempest dug deeper.

"Because...", Ornstein said, "...because once we were on the same side. In the dragon war. He was a fierce warrior and I respected him and his strength. I want him to have a clean end and not pace this land endlessly in the search for souls."

"Hm...", Tempest said. "Then let's go, he is in the tower at the edge of the path. If we move in a straight line neither the hydra nor the golems will see us."

Arrived at the tower, Tempest pulled a key out of his pockets. "After he killed me I came back and locked the door again. Felt like the most safe thing to do.", Tempest said.

"A good decision, little Storm.", Ornstein said but grabbed Tempest's hand. "Wait, before you let him out, we should think up a strategy."

"A strategy?", Tempest asked. "..Um, how about... not dying?"

"Well, of course, but what I mean. Havel is wearing armour made of stone with almost no weak points. It will be extremely difficult to get through it or find the joints to actually hurt him. And I remember that the man beneath this armour was sturdy as well."

"Stone armour? But Ornstein, can't you shatter rocks easily? You did it when we fought. Quite frequently.", Tempest clapped in his hands upon this realization.

"...Little Storm, I can't believe that I forgot about this.", Ornstein said.

"You have?!", Tempest stared at Ornstein with wide eyes. How did one forget his own abilities and skills?

"Well, we haven't fought anything made of stone lately.", Ornstein said defensively. "And while you are right, I can shatter rocks, I need to build up some momentum for it to work, especially on a moving foe. You will need to distract him for a while."

Tempest shuddered: "I really don't want to feel this pain a second time..."

"Little Storm... you may be able to parry Havel."

Tempest looked at Ornstein as if the dragon slayer had lost his mind: "Ornstein, have you seen how HUGE his club is? How should my meagre shield be able to parry that?" Tempest fell silent for a little moment and then added: "...What is it with you guys and having huge weapons?"

"We fought dragons.", Ornstein said. "You would like to have a huge weapon too when your foe was ten times your size."

"I fought foes ten times my size with a weapon half my size.", Tempest said.

"And probably died a dozen times in the process.", Ornstein scoffed.

"Well...", Tempest said before sheepishly adding: "..true..."

"Trust me. Once you managed to make him topple I can get rid of the armour."

"And when I mess up?"

Ornstein grinned under his helmet: "We have infinite tries."

Tempest nodded and went to finally unlock the door. Once it swung open, Tempest hid behind it and Ornstein could already see Havel charging forwards and stepped back, a massive crash was heard as his dragon tooth club shattered the earth.

"...I really hope I don't mess this up...", Tempest gulped as he pulled out sword and shield. The small Undead walked in front of Havel, shivering a bit as he looked up the giant club. The moment it was coming down on him he closed his eyes and jerked his shield up, shakily open them again when the anticipated pain was absent and the sound of armour bits falling to the ground was heard.

"Now, little Storm!", Ornstein yelled and Tempest didn't wait to drive the sword deep into Havel's chest, which made the hollowed out Undead fall on the ground and disappear... hopefully to never be resurrected again.

"It really worked.", Ornstein said, staring down at the ground where Havel had been only seconds before.

"What do you mean? You weren't sure about this?!", Tempest stood there, heavily panting, massaging his left arm and shoulder. Parrying that club had taken a toll on his body.

"I never tried to use this technique on a moving object.", Ornstein admitted.

"You are lucky that everything turned out just as planned.", Tempest growled while his gaze fell on something on the floor. "A ring?", he said as he picked it up.

"Huh?", Ornstein said. "Strange... I could have sworn this was Havel... the real one and not one of his men..."

"What do you mean?", Tempest asked.

"Havel had an army of soldiers who wore the same armour as him, but Havel was the only one strong enough wearing it. All of his soldiers got a ring like this, that made them able to wear heavy armour and move around in it. It's strange that Havel should have it."

"Maybe he carried one of it around to give to any new soldiers?", Tempest mused.

"Maybe.", Ornstein said and then repeated. "Maybe..."

The both of them stayed in the tower a little while longer with Ornstein telling Tempest about a few feats of Havel, the human dragon slayer and how much he hated Seath and that was what made Ornstein feel sympathy for him. "We often talked about Seath and how much we hated him.", Ornstein said. "Though for Havel it was also weariness of magic, for me it was mostly because of how insufferable Seath was."

"Sometimes I wish I would have lived at your time.", Tempest said with starry eyes. "It must have been beautiful back then."

"It was.", Ornstein said. "But that's over now. Come, little Storm, let's take care of the hydra. It has gotten too fat."

Tempest didn't miss how Ornstein avoided the subject. While he had taken an interest in what Tempest's life had been like, the dragon slayer was still wary sharing things about himself, mostly talking about other people but not like his life has been or similar things. For Tempest it felt like this golden armour wasn't only used to protect Ornstein's body, but also his emotions. As if he was being a whole different person when he was wearing it.

Tempest was still determined to break Ornstein out of his shell, if the dragon slayer liked him back or not didn't matter to him at the moment, just once he wanted to see the real Ornstein. The man that hid behind dozen of pounds of golden plate armour. The one that people like Smough had seen.

"...tle Storm, have you been listening to me?"

"Huh?", Tempest got ripped out of his thoughts by Ornstein's voice. "Um.. no.", he had to admit.

"I told you that we need to be careful, there are quite a few of Seath's crystal golems roaming this garden. And I can already see the Hydra preparing to attack. It always has been hostile when I wasn't bribing it with food."

"Oh, the crystal golems shouldn't be a problem. We killed a dozen of them in the archives.", Tempest said, two handing his sword. "Let's just dive in."

With that Tempest rushed off against the first crystal golem but regretted it greatly when he felt something similar to an arrow, but with far more force, impacting at him and he got skidded sideways, right in the arms of Ornstein who seemed to have waited for this exact outcome.

"It's always the same with you.", Ornstein growled, lowering Tempest on his lap. "I just warned you that the Hydra would attack."

"How should I have known that it would attack with some kind of ranged attack?", Tempest groaned out, not sure how many bones in his body were broken. Ornstein already was searching for Tempest's Estus.

"It's a high pressure water shot.", Ornstein said. "And you now know why it is a bad idea to let get yourself hit by it." Ornstein guided the Estus to Tempest's lips and let the small Undead take a sip who sighed in relief as the pain went away but then shot up.

"Wait, what about the golem?", he shouted.

"Got hit with you by the water shot and isn't a threat anymore.", Ornstein said.

"Oh.", Tempest said, scanning the area before turning back to Ornstein. "You saved me once again from a needless death, Ornstein. Thank you."

"Don't mention it, you little idiot.", Ornstein said just as Tempest realized that Ornstein had basically cradled him on his lap and got rather red in the face about the implication of this gesture. Even though Tempest knew that Ornstein didn't like him in that way, his own crush was far from having gone away. Especially with Ornstein being so considerate at him lately.

"Now.", Ornstein said. "Let's just run down there. I am quick enough to not get hit." Before Tempest could protest Ornstein lifted him up and threw him over his shoulder, making the small Undead yelp in surprise. "Hold on tight."

Tempest was glad that he didn't need to eat anymore because the sensation of Ornstein's speed as he zigzagged down the hill and even managed to let every single lasting golem run into the hydra's water shots was letting his stomach do somersaults. Once Tempest could hear and feel water splashing, he found himself on the ground again, swaying a bit while Ornstein didn't waste a second to leap on the Hydra's back.

"I am going to force it's heads out and you slice them down!", Ornstein shouted, his spear already deep in one of the necks of the hydra, forcing it to stretch out, right next to the spot where Tempest in the meantime had regained his composure.

"Cut it down!", Ornstein shouted as five other heads directed their attention at the dragon slayer and prepared to charge at him just for Ornstein to jump out of the way at the last second and run along the one outstretched neck, shouting: "Little Storm, what are you waiting for?!"

Tempest, who had been far too much in awe at watching Ornstein, snapped out of it and turned around to face the head. It was rather angry looking and growled and hissed and just as it tried to snap at Tempest Ornstein jumped on it and it splashed into the water again: "Don't waste any time, cut it down while the others haven't noticed that I am not there and are fighting each other!"

"Sorry.", Tempest said and sliced a clean cut into the neck of the hydra, making the head go limp after it screeched in pain. Unfortunately, that got the attention of the other heads and five pairs of eyes got directed at the duo.

"Well, crap.", Ornstein only said and jumped out of the way of the charge, taking Tempest with him as he rolled in the water. "And my weapon is still in its back."

"Your... WHAT?!", Tempest yelled. "And now?!"

"Don't quail, little Storm, just get it's attention for ten second."

"..I am dead...", Tempest murmured, but heeded Ornstein's order and jumped up and down, shouting: "Hey, you over there, you dumb hydra. How about you try to pick a fight with someone your own size?! ...Wait!"

Just as Tempest recognized how contradicting his taunt had been, five hydra heads were charging at him and he, in a motion of poor fear and instinct, had raised his shield and stood there, shivering, until he opened his eyes and realized that he actually not only was still alive but also unharmed. He jumped as another of the hydra heads splashed in the water next to him.

"Now!", Ornstein yelled and this time Tempest didn't hesitate and sliced the neck open right away.

The dance continued three more times, with Ornstein jumping and running elegantly on the hydra's back and necks, not failing once to give Tempest an opportunity to slice them open. Once the last neck was cut the whole body of the Hydra went limp. Tempest allowed himself a moment to breathe and Ornstein landed in the water next to him.

"Ornstein.", Tempest said. "You would have been able to slay this thing on your own, right?"

"Your help was beneficial.", Ornstein said. "The water is quite deep there. With my armour I would have sunken to the ground like a stone. Preparing it for you to make the death blows was the best way to handle it."

Tempest went pale: "The water was that deep?! I could have drowned."

"What? I have seen you swim in the bath...", Ornstein said.

"That's different! I can't swim that well. Especially not while holding on various weapons!", Tempest waded backwards out of the water and fell over something in the process. "Ugh, if I haven't been wet enough already..."

Ornstein waded next to Tempest, offering the small Undead a hand which he gratefully took and got lifted up with ease. Then he looked down and saw something shimmering in the water. "Oh, poor guy.", Tempest said.

"Probably fell against the hydra.", Ornstein said as he noticed the knight's armour in the water. "Alright, shall we dry off and then...", Ornstein didn't want to be the one to speak it out, he had tried so hard to avoid Blighttown all this time but they were running out of options.

"Wait, Ornstein.", Tempest interrupted him. "There is another one of Seath's crystal golems back there!"

Ornstein glanced into the direction Tempest was pointing and in fact, there was a golden crystal golem.

"Hm, we should check this out.", Ornstein said, one part curiosity but the other part being glad they could avoid Blighttown a little while longer. "But like I said, the water there is deep and with me wearing armour and you apparently being a bad swimmer, we should stay at the edges."

Tempest nodded and followed closely behind Ornstein, who had his eyes directed at the water, always making sure that they weren't getting into too deep water. Arrived at their destination, the golden golem noticed the new threat and attacked right away.

With them having taken out so many of them already, the battle wasn't a problem and Tempest only got hit once and didn't miss to complain about having gotten wet again but then the golem dissolved and... Ornstein swallowed hard when he saw just who was standing in front of them.

The woman who came out of the golem was none other than Dusk, Princess of Oolacile, a kingdom that had fallen hundreds of years ago and the reason for one of the worst memories in Ornstein's life.

Upon seeing him, Dusk straightened her post and said: "Dragon Slayer. It seems like fate has brought us together once again." 

(Author's note: I know there is a lot of discourse about Gwyndolin's gender in the fandom but I headcanon them to be non binary and that is what they were talking about. With Gwyn forcing them to be female while them not feeling female themselves, they vowed to themselves to never force a child to be something they aren't. I don't wish to discuss this, I just ask for you to respect my headcanon for Gwyndolin. Thank you very much.

Hm, Tempest was a bit lewd in this chapter. Are you alright, little Storm?)


	25. Chapter 25

Summary: Tempest has a talk with Dusk. The duo gets sucked into a strange place where they have to fight a mighty beast and then.. Ornstein notices something.

(Author's note: Oh boy, it's time for the DLC and I can say you, I have some things planned for it. This is merely the beginning! I look so forward to write the next chapters.

Also, please check out the fic "Aftermath" (found here: /works/23548969), which was written by RedFox13 and was inspired by my story. It is wonderful and emotional. I am very happy that I now have two fics that were inspired by this piece.)

Ornstein was on his knees in an instant, not caring about his armour getting wet. "Princess.", he said.

"I have to thank thee for saving me, dragon slayer.", Dusk smiled at him. "I seem to be in debt of another knight of Gwyn."

Ornstein glanced to the side, where Tempest stood, having his mouth open a little, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know what. Technically, without Tempest he had never come down here to take care of the hydra and then they never would have seen the golden golem. It felt wrong for him to get all the praise.

"Actually...", he started but was interrupted by Dusk gasping.

"Ah, while I wish to discuss many more things with thee, I am afraid we are running out of time. I am, after all, from an age long before this one... I will engrave my signature. Call upon me, so that we can talk."

Dusk disappeared shortly after she said this words and Ornstein finally raised from his knees.

"Who was that?", Tempest asked. "You know her?"

"It's... a long story.", Ornstein said and turned around, intending to leave the water. They should finally get back on track and continue their mission. He didn't intend to talk to Dusk. He didn't had any intention to revisit that part of his life.

"That is all?", Tempest said morosely. "You aren't going to explain anything to me? She said, she was from an age long before this one and she knew you, Ornstein. What did happen between the two of you?"

"I don't wish to talk about his.", Ornstein said, just wishing that the little Storm would let this subject rest. Tempest shrugged and followed Ornstein as they waded out of the water. As Ornstein took a moment to pour the water out of his boots, Tempest strolled along the shore of the basin and stopped when he saw a summon sign in front of him.

How strange. He was absolutely sure that hadn't been here before. Wait, hadn't this princess earlier said she would engrave her signature? Did she mean laying down her summon sign with that? Curiously, Tempest touched the sign and in fact, the image of the woman from earlier showed up.

Tempest looked back at Ornstein to see that he still was busy with drying his feet and touched the sign. It glowed and shortly after the woman from earlier rose and spoke.

"Dragon slayer, do thou wish to talk now?" She blinked a few times when her gaze fell on Tempest and then she said: "Thou are not Ornstein."

"Um... hello.", Tempest said, raising his hand in a greeting. "I am Tempest. I am something like Ornstein's storm." Tempest immediately noticed his blunder and blushed. Had the nickname of little Storm affected him so much that he started to think of himself as a storm now too? "Companion, I mean. I am Ornstein's companion!", he quickly corrected himself. "So, um, what is your name?"

"Dusk from Oolacile.", the woman answered. "I am... was... the princess of a land that existed long before thine age. It was reduced to ashed a long time ago..."

"...It was reduced to ashes? What happened?", Tempest said, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Little Storm, what are you doing?", Ornstein's voice sounded from behind and as he saw the glowing image of Dusk, he inhaled sharply.

"Dragon Slayer.", Dusk practically beamed when he arrived. "I was hoping that you would come back."

"...don't call me dragon slayer anymore, please.", Ornstein said, averting his gaze.

"Oh, my deepest apologies, dr.. Ornstein.", Dusk said. "Still, I have to thank thee properly. Thou saved me from the golem."

"That isn't exactly true.", Ornstein said. "It is true that I helped to strike the golem down that imprisoned you, but my presence here in the basin, the reason I saw the golem that housed you, that was all thanks to the little Storm here.", Ornstein laid his big hand on Tempest's head and would have ruffled his hair if not for the helmet he wore. Tempest just stared at him with wide eyes.

"Oh, then it was Storm's interference here that saved me?", Dusk's gaze wandered from Ornstein back to Tempest.

"It's Tempest.", Tempest said. "Ornstein just likes to butcher my name."

"They are basically the same.", Ornstein said. "As you see, your thanks should be given to him and not to me."

Ornstein then dropped the conversation and Dusk spoke again: "There isn't much I could offer other then the magic of mine land. My home, Oolacile, is the home of ancient sorceries. Would me passing this profound knowledge to thee be of any help?"

"Uh, I guess...", Tempest said. He knew he wasn't particularly skilled in magic, he preferred the far more rough but easier to cast pyromancy, but he also didn't want Dusk to feel like she is useless. It wouldn't hurt looking at her spells and he had enough souls from the hydra to make a deal with her.

"Wonderful. Then let me teach thou my sorceries.", Dusk said, clapping her hands together, which made a hollow sound, because her body was merely that of a phantom, summoned to a time that wasn't hers.

Tempest spend some time looking over the sorceries. They were very different from anything the Vinheim sorcerers had to offer. This magic wasn't meant to attack or strengthen oneself, but it seemed more like it was there to support and feint. There was a spell that would cast light (that would have been useful in the Tomb of Giants), a spell that would hide one's body or weapon and – the most amusing one – a spell that would cast an illusion around the caster and let them appear as something else. Tempest found this too hilarious and because it wasn't exactly hard to learn, soon had the scroll in his hands, while Dusk told him a bit more about he nature of the magic of her homeland.

"Are you done? Can we leave now?", Ornstein said, seemingly in hurry.

"Ornstein, what's the matter?", Tempest mocked. "First you seem to want to do everything to avoid going down to Lost Izalith and now you can't wait for half an hour more?" He then put his attention back to Dusk and asked the question he still needed an answer for another time: "So, Princess Dusk, what happened to your home town?"

Dusk's gaze fell onto the floor before she spoke: "It happened a long time ago. I was beset by a creature of the Abyss. I would have perished if not for the great knight Artorias. He... saved me and slayed the beast of the Abyss, but..."

Tempest noticed a certain shift in Ornstein's stance as Dusk said that. He glanced over to him and then back to Dusk when she continued: "...his wounds were too grave and he fell after he rescued me. In truth, there was little I transpired because my senses had already fled. But even still, there was something about Artorias...", she trailed off and stared at Ornstein. "That may be why I thought that it was Ornstein who saved me from the golem. They have a similar aura..."

Tempest had gotten starry eyed at her tale, not noticing anymore how uncomfortable Ornstein seemed to be, shifting around and clutching his spear.

"You are the princess from the tales about the Abyss Walker?! Oh, I never thought I would meet you in person!", Tempest had both hands folded in front of his chest. "And you even shared some of your sorceries with me. Maybe getting Undead hasn't been as horrible as I thought!"

"I am glad that I could be of thine service.", Dusk smiled but then she frowned. "Unfortunately, my tale doesn't have a happy ending. Much alike Artorias, it was too late for my kingdom. It was corrupted by the Abyss and there was nothing we could do anymore. It fell and now only ruins are proof that there ever had been the town of Oolacile."

"...I am sorry to hear.", Tempest said, gaze on the ground, scrabbling the ground with his foot. "I didn't want to make any bad memories resurface."

Dusk shook her head: "It's quite alright. It has been long in the past for you. I shouldn't dwell on things that can't be changed anymore. Thou have my gratitude to free me of the golem, so that I can be with my people until the very end at least. Please, if you need my services, just call upon me."

Dusk disappeared after this words, but her summon sign stayed. Tempest laid a hand on it and determined that it was still warm.

"Are you done? Can we leave already?", Ornstein growled.

"Ornstein, you act strange.", Tempest said, putting both hands in his hip as he addressed the dragon slayer. "That was the princess that your friend, the legendary Abyss Walker, saved and you intended to just walk away? Every child knows this story. The story about the knight and his trusty companion, the grey wolf, who traversed the darkness, slayed a beast and saved the princess of the golden town!" Tempest had gotten starry eyed again as he recited the tale that his mother had to tell him dozen of times as a bed time story.

"...That tale isn't true...", Ornstein murmured and turned around.

"What?", Tempest said. He had the impression that Ornstein had just said that this story was false, but he wasn't too sure. The dragon slayer had muttered the sentence under his breath and with his helmet on he was barely audible.

"Let's just leave. We wasted enough time.", Ornstein said and started to walk but stopped when Tempest didn't move. "What are you waiting for, idiot?"

"Ornstein, don't you hear a voice...?", Tempest said and took off his helmet. Hm, strange, he still could hear the voice but it was muffled, even without his ears being covered. That was when he realized that the voice came from inside his bag.

"What? Nobody is talking besides you and me? Don't tell me you go insane, little Storm.", Ornstein said.

"I swear, there is a voice...", Tempest put his bag on the ground and searched through it, various items flying around, including a sunlight medal, his white and orange soapstones, a few glowing souls and various keys. "Aha, there it is...", Tempest said, withdrawing the broken pendant from his bag. "The voice is coming from here."

"That thing... haven't we found this in the archives?", Ornstein asked.

"Yes, it has been in a golden golem just like Dusk.", Tempest nodded. "And now I suddenly can hear a voice from it." He brought the pendant to his ear and frowned. "Hm, I can't really make out what it is saying..." He walked a few steps with the pendant on his ear and then exclaimed: "Hey, it is getting louder the nearer I get to the water!"

Tempest then stormed off and Ornstein hastily put his belongings back into his bag and shouted: "Little Storm, don't leave your stuff lying around like this!", before following him into the water.

Tempest still had the pendant at his ear, murmuring to himself, sometimes stopping and shaking it, until they were at the far end of the watery body. Tempest just stood there with his mouth open, as he stared at the swirling vortex in front of him. Ornstein took a step back. He had a bad feeling about his, a very bad feeling.

"This hasn't been here before...", Tempest said as he took a step forward and extended a hand.

"Idiot! You don't touch any mysterious swirling vortex!", Ornstein scolded Tempest, still holding onto his bag, but it was too late. A large, extremely large hand, came out of the vortex and engulfed Tempest as a whole.

"Oh, you fucking idiot!", Ornstein groaned and jumped in, trying to pry the hand open with his spear, but to no avail. He could feel the familiar sensation of getting pulled through space and time and landed hard on his stomach in a small, overgrown and dimly lit cave, fighting back the usual nausea after a teleport.

After he had regained control over his stomach, Ornstein pulled himself up and searched for Tempest who he found in front of a bonfire. "Come on, why doesn't this work?!", the little Storm groaned. "Why can't I warp from here?"

Ornstein stood up and stomped over to Tempest, throwing his bag on the ground and putting both hands in his hip. Tempest turned his head and gave Ornstein a weak smile: "Oh, hey Ornstein..."

"You IDIOT!", Ornstein yelled. "Where have you brought us?! Why did you think going near a swirling vortex was a good idea?! We could be anywhere!"

"...I am sorry...", Tempest said, gaze down on the ground. "It appears that we are stuck here, because that bonfire won't let me warp." He gave another weak smile that vanished instantly when Ornstein gave him another glare. That glare that Tempest couldn't see but very well feel.

"I... I promise I will find us a way out of here! For now, we should go forwards and see where we are.", he shot up and collected his bag. "Thanks for picking up my stuff by the way, Ornstein. It would have been troublesome finding the way out of here without my things."

"You have bigger problems than your things right now, little Storm.", Ornstein growled, making Tempest duck.

"I already said sorry. Ornstein, I am aware that I messed up. Like I always do. But... I have the feeling that this pendant wanted me to be here. The pendant brought me here. And you too. So I guess we have some kind of task here and when we are done with it, then the pendant will bring us back.", Tempest rambled.

"...If we are getting out of here, no, when we are getting out of here, I let you cook the most vile meal I can think of.", Ornstein grumbled.

Tempest shuddered only at the thought of this. "Yikes... but I guess, I deserve it... Let's... let's just move for now. We won't find out where we are by staying in this tiny cave."

"You have a point.", Ornstein sighed, his anger still lingering, but he started to slowly calm down. "Then lead the way. You brought us into this mess, you bring us out of it."

"On it.", Tempest said and followed the cave until they were in front of a fog wall.

"These things never mean something good...", Tempest said, taking a step back.

"Are you going through it or not?", Ornstein asked, feeling his anger resurface.

Tempest checked the Estus on his belt which was filled to the brim and then nodded. "Follow me closely, Ornstein." He then braced himself for the cold sensation of the fog wall and strode through it.

The first thing Tempest noticed once he had crossed the fog wall, was that his feet were getting wet. He sighed, that seemed to be a trend lately. He had been pretty wet to begin with, though, it would have been nice to be able to dry in the meantime.

Tempest's worries about his wet feet got scattered once he heard a roar and his gaze fell on an enormous beast, with the body of a lion, wings and horns. The creature then made a sizzling sound, one Tempest was far too familiar with and he ran for his life once it shot a quick series of lightning bolts his way.

"I knew that something unpleasant would be behind the door! There is never something pleasant behind them!", he screamed. Well, besides Ornstein and when Tempest had encountered him the first time behind the fog door, he hadn't found it very pleasant to get stabbed to death with a spear right away.

As Tempest outran the last lightning bolt, he thought about the best way to attack this creature. It looked swift and nimble and it could probably fly. Which it did right at this moment, shooting another lightning bolt into the middle of the area, which spread from the impact in a circle. Figures that the lightning would stay on the water for a while.

It probably would be the best when Ornstein would be able to clip the creature's wings. Speaking of Ornstein, where was he? While Tempest was doing his best to stay alive, that creature was just as swift and nimble as he thought it would be, he managed to get a glimpse of the dragon slayer who still stood at the entrance of the arena, seemingly petrified.

"Ornstein! What are you doing?!", Tempest screamed, running into his direction. "Help me out! Clip its wings or something!"

"A bird... and a cat... why does it have to be both...", Ornstein murmured to himself, still not moving. Tempest jerked his head around to see that the "bird-cat" as Ornstein had just labelled it, was in the air again and in the process of swiping down.

"Ornstein! Move! Or it will get you!", he yelled, hurling himself in front of the dragon slayer and getting the full brunt of the attack. Oooh, that had _ihurt/i._ Tempest could practically feel how this claws ripped the flesh from his back and how his rips broke when he was hurled into the watery ground.

That finally got Ornstein out of his stupor. "Little Storm!", he yelled.

"I am... fine..", Tempest groaned and searched his Estus. "Ground this thing, please!"

Ornstein gave Tempest a nod and then jumped into the air, landing on the bird-cat just in time before it could make Tempest fly again by ramming him with its horns. Tempest found his Estus and quickly took two sips of it, feeling how the gashes in his back closed and his broken ribs knitted itself together, scrambling to his feet, gasping as he saw the struggle between Ornstein and the creature.

Ornstein had placed himself on the back of the creature, his left hand had gripped a horn while his right hand clutched his spear. Instead of attacking its wings though, Ornstein had quite some trouble staying in place, he seemed to use all his energy to not get knocked off the creature's back. Tempest quickly registered that Ornstein had trouble, because the bird-cat was a lot smaller than Ornstein's usual prey. Ornstein was used to fight dragons, beings that were large enough that he could stand on their neck and wouldn't have trouble balancing, the much smaller creature he was handling right now gave him a hard time finding his balance.

Tempest needed to help Ornstein somehow, distract the creature long enough so that he could find his balance and stab at least one of the wings. His first thoughts were his pyromancy, but Ornstein didn't like fire and when he would be confronted with it, he probably would have a bad reaction. So Tempest drew his bow from his back, getting an arrow into place and aimed... If only the creature would stay still for a moment! He let the bow go and the arrow fizzled next to the creature, not hitting anything at all. Tempest internally groaned and loaded another arrow, only to see that the creature's head had jerked around and stared into the direction of the arrow that had missed. This distraction had Ornstein given enough time to balance himself. Tempest reacted quickly and shot a second arrow, which hit the creature into the side and it growled in pain and jerked his head at Tempest.

"Now, Ornstein!", Tempest yelled.

"You don't have to say this twice, little Storm!", Ornstein shouted back and drove his spear deep into the frontal left wing of the bird-cat. Blood gushed out of the wound and the creature hissed and screamed in pain as Ornstein was quick-witted enough to clip one of the wings on the right of the creature too.

After another rain of blood mixed itself with the water, Ornstein jumped down from the creature's back and landed right next to Tempest. "Be careful, it's angry now.", he hissed.

"At least it won't be able to fly up anymore.", Tempest said, clutching his sword with both hands, determining that his shield would be of no use in this battle. Tempest gasped when he saw the creatures spreading its two remaining wings, surely it wouldn't be able to fly like this anymore, but the creature didn't intend on flying, instead it flapped the wings forward and a strong gust came his and Ornstein's way. The dragon slayer pretty much grabbed Tempest vest at the back of his neck and jumped into safety with him.

"That thing is dangerous...", Ornstein murmured as the creature needed a moment to recover from the heavy attack.

"So how do we fight it?", Tempest asked.

"There aren't any tricks to use here. The arena is flat, so we can't use the ground to our advantage. In fact, the water at the bottom gives the creature an advantage, because of its lightnings bolts.", Ornstein said.

"Speaking of...", Tempest said as he heard the sizzling sound and both him and Ornstein dodged in different directions once a large lightning bolt impacted the ground.

"Can't you use the water for your lightning?", Tempest asked as he ran next to Ornstein, away from the bird-cats deadly claws that tried to rip them apart.

"Good thought, but on one hand, that creature probably is rather sturdy when it comes to lighting and on the other hand, I would shock you too."

Tempest shuddered. That didn't sound too thrilling. He wasn't eager having to die to Ornstein's lightning once again and this time the dragon slayer wouldn't even intend to kill him.

"So we have no choice but fight it head on?!", Tempest shouted and rolled into the water to dodge a blow from the deadly claws.

"Exactly.", Ornstein twirled around and his spear connected with the flank of the creature. Blood seeped out of the wound but it wasn't very impressed. "Damn, like I thought, it isn't very susceptible to lightning."

"But it bleeds.", Tempest said. "So far I could kill everything that bled. Or, somehow bled." He charged in with his sword raised only to fly through the air once the creature had rammed him with its head.

"Little Storm, you need to be more careful when to attack.", Ornstein said, running to the point of his supposed impact with the intent of catching him, but the bird-cat didn't let him and so Ornstein had to back away when the creature swept at him.

In the meantime, Tempest had impacted and found his Estus to once again heal the broken bones he got from the impact. In the meantime, he had gotten used to it. Of course it still hurt, but knowing that his Estus would just heal him in a few seconds, made the pain very much bearable.

Once Tempest had put his Estus away, his eyes got wide when he saw that the bird-cat was in front of him, but turned around, its rear in Tempest's vision. He shot up and ran over to give the thing a good slash, but stumbled backwards when he realized that the creature had a scorpion's tail and lashed out with it, the stinger mere inches away from his shoulders.

"Crap! Ornstein, this thing has a scorpion tail!", Tempest yelled. "Don't let yourself get hit by its tail, it probably is poisonous!"

"Damnit!", Ornstein cursed. "Whoever made this creature thought about everything!"

Made? Tempest was a bit confused at Ornstein's word at first, but judging that the creature had the body of lion, horns of a goat, wings like a bird and the tail of scorpion, it felt truly like someone made this creature. Surely a hybrid animal like this couldn't exist naturally.

"Little Storm, distract it for me.", Ornstein said.

"...What?! How?!", Tempest shot up and felt his knees getting weak. He didn't think that he would be able to stand his ground against this thing without Ornstein's help at all. In fact, all he had did so far was supporting Ornstein and get hit.

"Just get its attention on you, I only need a minute.", Ornstein said and jumped up into the air, landing onto the creature's back another time. Oh, that was what he meant. Tempest got out his bow and shot an arrow at the creature immediately, not caring if it would hit. To his surprise, the arrow hit the creature right between the eyes and it howled in pain.

Which apparently was just what Ornstein needed, because Tempest could see how the creature doubled over and shook his head, hissing and growling in sheer agony as its tail dropped to the ground.

"Now we shouldn't have to fear anything anymore.", Ornstein said, suddenly standing besides Tempest, who gasped in surprise.

"Other than its teeth and razor sharp claws.", he said.

"They are easily enough avoided.", Ornstein said, preparing himself for his dash attack. "Once I wounded it, you come in and give it the final blow."

Tempest nodded, hoping that his body would obey him. He watched as Ornstein dashed forwards and left a nasty gash in the creature's side with his spear. Tempest ran behind Ornstein as fast as he could, which still felt awfully slow and then drove his sword deep into the creature's open mouth.

It convulsed for a second or two before collapsing into the ground and Tempest could feel how the soul of the creature got drawn to his dark sign. He let himself fell onto the ground, not caring that he would get wet again, and panted heavily.

"Little Storm, are you alright?", Ornstein asked, having coming over to him.

"Ornstein, that was so scary...", Tempest said, shuddering. "I barely did anything. You carried the fight. I needed all my strength to survive."

"And you didn't die.", Ornstein said, laying a gloved hand on Tempest's shoulder, who flinched at this touch. Normally Ornstein wouldn't get so physical.

"Hm, I guess...", he said. "Though... if not for you, I don't think I could have won. I probably would have been dead in ten seconds."

Ornstein's hand disappeared from Tempest's shoulder and he could see the dragon slayer fidgeting. "...It was you who brought me out of my stupor. If not for you, it could have very well been me that would be dead... And you know... it would have been permanent..."

Tempest shuddered, this time not because of the fight, but because of Ornstein's words. "Don't say something like this, Ornstein.", he said, looking gloomily at the ground. "I don't want to see you dead."

"Oh? That was very different when we fought in the cathedral.", Ornstein said.

Tempest shot up, practically yelling: "I didn't know back then! Besides, you killed me like … thirty times and I failed to kill you, so you have no right to talk!"

Ornstein chuckled: "That is the little Storm I want to see. Now, let's find out where we are so that we can find our way back."

"I hope there will be a bonfire soon. I need to repair my armour, I want o spend my souls and you didn't had a break for a while, Ornstein.", Tempest hummed, scanning the area and then heading for a tunnel he could spot.

"If you think I need a break to eat, I am still full from breakfast.", Ornstein said. "I still would like to take your offer on a break, though I don't need more than a few minutes."

"I will surely need a few minutes at the bonfire, but you can take a longer break than that, Ornstein.", Tempest said. "Aren't you exhausted after running around the whole morning and fighting?"

"...I was used to much worse.", Ornstein simply said and dropped the subject altogether.

The tunnel led the duo into a clearing with a bonfire, where Tempest cheerily ran towards and lighted it, working on his armour and on using up soul power while Ornstein disappeared into the bushes for a little while. Strange, he had the feeling he had seen this particular clearing before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it...

Once Ornstein returned to the bonfire and sat himself down, waiting for Tempest to be finished, he noticed that the little Storm was staring particular hard at a certain wall.

"What are you looking at?", Ornstein asked, putting the visor of his helmet up to drink a little water.

"...There is a mushroom with a face growing out of this wall.", Tempest said and pointed at the aforementioned direction.

Ornstein's gaze followed the one of Tempest and once he saw the mushroom that Tempest had mentioned his canteen fell out of his hands. "But... that's.. Elizabeth... this can't be...", he said, hands shaking.

"Elizabeth? You tell me, that mushroom has a name? Can it talk? I am going to talk to it!", Tempest exclaimed and ran over to Elizabeth, leaving Ornstein alone with this thoughts.

If that was Elizabeth, then... no, it couldn't be. It had been hundreds of years ago. However... he did had the feeling that he had seen that bird-cat once before, in fact, he was pretty sure he had drawn a picture of it once. Back when he had come to Oolacile to attend Artorias' burial. That had also been when Princess Dusk had introduced him to Elizabeth, the mushroom lady had helped him with a particular bad self induced stomach ache.

Ornstein's gaze wandered to Tempest who was talking with what supposedly was Elizabeth, he seemed excited and... confused. After a while he waved to the mushroom and came back to Ornstein.

"Ornstein, that Elizabeth mushroom said strange stuff.", he said. "She told me that I came from a far age and then asked me if I could rescue Dusk who has been snatched away by a creature of the abyss. But... but... why did she ask me? Wasn't it Artorias who did this? And what did she mean I came from a far age? I don't understand anything she tried to tell me..."

Ornstein's breath hitched at Tempest's words. Could it be... did... they travel through time...?

"Little Storm...", he choked out. "You know that the time in Lordran is convoluted."

Tempest stared at Ornstein with a bewildered look but then nodded: "Yes. This is why I sometimes can see the phantoms of other Undead or the messages they leave and...", he shuddered at this, "I can even see how they died sometimes."

Ornstein shook his head: "This situation is different. I mean, everything you said is true, but... that pendant you had... it... threw us a few hundred years back..."

Tempest's eyes grew wide and he searched for the pendant in his belongings: "This old, broken thing?!" He stared very hard and intense at it. "Hey, when it brought us here, maybe it can bring us back."

"It wasn't the only thing bringing us here.", Ornstein said. "Remember the vortex?"

"Yes.", Tempest gave Ornstein a sheepish smile. "You got really mad at me for having touched it."

"Well, I think we need to find a similar vortex like this...", Ornstein said. "Then we might be able to find ourselves back in Darkroot Basin at our own time..."

"Hmmm...", Tempest said. "Elizabeth mentioned something about the abyss. Maybe we should search there?"

"Wait...", Ornstein said, a hand at his helmet, "Little Storm, what exactly did Elizabeth tell you?"

"Hmmmm.", Tempest paced up and forth as the tried to recall. "Like I said earlier, that I am not from this age and then she asked me to rescue Dusk. That is the part which confused me because I always thought it was Artorias who did save her."

Ornstein suddenly shot up and hissed: "Artorias!"

"Huh?", Tempest said. "What about Artorias? Wait, I think that Elizabeth mentioned him too... Wait, is he still alive in this time?! Is he here? Are you telling me I can meet another knight of Gwyn?!"

"Stop talking, just come with me.", Ornstein grabbed Tempest's arm and practically dragged the small Undead along. He never thought he would have a chance to relive this fateful day, but here they were. "It might not be too late... We have to hurry!"


	26. Chapter 26

Summary: Ornstein drags Tempest through the Royal Woods without an explanation until Tempest gets fed up with him, but before Ornstein can explain anything to him, they hear a noise and when they check it out, Ornstein's darkest nightmare has become true.

(Author's note: Oh boy, the chapter was difficult. Ornstein just didn't want to work with me and I actually had to rewrite the entire second half until I was satisfied. Ornstein felt very off in this chapter and while he had good reasons for it, for me as the author it felt like ripping my hair out.)

"Ornstein, wait.", Tempest gasped out, the knight had a death grip on his arm and he could barely keep up with his long strides, more stumbling behind Ornstein than walking.

"I told you there is no time.", Ornstein snapped, not slowing down as he exited the tunnel that led out of the clearing and crossing a narrow stone bridge.

"You don't have to explain anything to me, but would you please release me?", Tempest groaned as he felt himself topple over and he was sure he got a few scrapes as Ornstein still dragged him over the ground.

"Oh, my apologies.", Ornstein practically let Tempest fall and walked further, but then stopped, looking up a small hill, which gave Tempest enough time to get up and catch up to him.

"Careful, little Storm, there are foes up there.", Ornstein said and readied his spear. Tempest followed the gaze of the dragon slayer and indeed could see a human shaped being standing there, though made out of twigs and straw. It looked mostly like a scarecrow. A scarecrow that could move and had a pitchfork ready. It wasn't even alone. There was another. Tempest drew his sword and followed Ornstein who had started to walk close to the hill again, readying himself for a harsh fight, but before Tempest could even strike with his sword once, Ornstein had impaled both of the scarecrows, who had jumped down the hill once they had the chance, at once on his spear.

"I don't have time for this.", Ornstein said, shook the scarecrows off his spear which toppled into a nearby chasm and continued to hurry along with these large strides. Tempest had to run to be able to keep up with him. They entered a rather spacious area, littered with trees, making Tempest think that they were in some forest. He could spot a giant figure in the distance and shuddered, they reminded him of the giant sentinels of Anor Londo, an enemy he preferred to not fight again. Tempest didn't had much time to gaze at them though, Ornstein was still keeping up a brisk pace and Tempest could feel how his breath caught short. Once Ornstein finally stopped, the small Undead was leaning forward and panting heavily.

After Tempest had caught his breath and looked upwards, he saw Ornstein stare at a building in the near distance. It was large and round and Tempest found that it would be best described as coliseum, even though it looked a bit broken and probably wasn't used a lot anymore. He briefly thought about if Ornstein would have considered a champion in such a coliseum, probably pitted against captured dragon, but discarded the thought. Ornstein didn't feel like the type of man who cherished the attention of the masses and he doubted that anyone was able to capture a dragon.

As Ornstein's gaze wandered from the coliseum down to the chasm they were standing at the edge of, Tempest turned around to gaze into the forest once again. He counted at least three of these giant figures and squinted as he saw movement near them. They were hard to see, but there were more of these strange scarecrows hidden in the trees, right next to the giant figures. Anyone trying to traverse this forest would be in for a nasty surprise. Tempest understood why Ornstein had preferred to stay close to the stonewall, though he wondered why the dragon slayer knew this. Had Ornstein been here before?

"No, that won't work.", Ornstein suddenly murmured, startling Tempest. "It's too deep, even for me. And there is only this narrow bridge to land. I can't risk slipping and breaking my legs... At least, I can't hear anything yet. There still might be time."

Ornstein turned around and put his attention on a building next to the chasm. "Little Storm, come.", he said, or more, ordered, reminding Tempest that this knight once had been a commander. With the tone of voice Ornstein used, Tempest felt like he was forced to obey, so powerful was it. Ornstein entered the building and Tempest dutifully followed him inside.

"Come on, work.", Ornstein said, tapping a floor panel frantically with his foot. Tempest had no clue what he was trying to do and preferred to explore the building on his own instead. There were a few stairs leading up, but his adventure got caught short when the stairs ended. There were some gauntlets lying there though. Tempest picked them up, but quickly determined that they were too heavy for him. He still took them with him.

"Come, little Storm, or I am letting you here.", Ornstein said, already in the door frame of the small stone building. Tempest jumped down the stairs and hurried to him.

"What were you trying to do in there?", he asked, hoping that Ornstein heard him, because the dragon slayer had picked up the pace again.

"Trying to call the elevator of course.", Ornstein replied. "But it didn't work. We have to go the long way. Don't wander off into the centre of the garden, stay close to me."

A garden was it, not a forest then? Glancing at the area around him again, Tempest noticed that it certainly looked to kempt for a forest, the trees felt like someone carefully had selected and planted them. It also explained the existence of the scarecrows and the big figures, which Tempest decided were probably guardians. As Tempest was still glancing at the centre of the garden, he realized that there were several metres between him and Ornstein and he made sure to catch up to him by falling into a slight jog. This was luckily enough to be able to keep up with Ornstein's tempo. Tempest still wondered what the dragon slayer was trying to accomplish, outside of that it apparently had to do with Artorias (and Tempest was more than excited to meet another knight of legends), he knew nothing. Well, he knew the stuff that Elizabeth had told him, but he barely had been able to make sense of them. Something about Artorias falling to the dark, but he was known as the Abysswalker, surely that mushroom lady must be mistaken.

Tempest's thoughts ended abrupt when Ornstein stopped and he nearly fell down into a meadow of orange flowers. Ornstein just grabbed him and put him back on his feet next to him, scanning the meadow.

"This reeks like a trap.", he said, his gaze wandering over the meadow, searching and counting for the scarecrows hidden beneath the trees. A guardian was also there and he knew how strong they were, Oolacile's sorcery had been more than impressive. Even at the present day their magic still lingered in the Dark Root Garden.

Ornstein's gaze wandered over to the other side of the meadow, there were two more scarecrows standing up on a hill, ready to drop in once someone would come their way. He sighed and readied his spears, it would be better to take them out first, when first the left and then the right of them fell over, an arrow sticking out of their heads

"My aim is getting better.", Tempest grinned, his still drawn bow in his hands.

"Not bad, little Storm.", Ornstein said and jumped down into the meadow, with the obvious trap out of the way, it wouldn't be any trouble for him to dispatch of the scarecrows. Tempest followed him and landed with a soft thud, but before he had even drawn his sword, Ornstein had killed the first two scarecrows who had attacked him once he landed and already headed into the direction of the guardian, which was flanked by another pair of scarecrows.

Tempest had a bad feeling about his guardian and it proved to be true when he saw Ornstein dispatching the two scarecrows and it swung a maze with such force that the ground was shaken. Though, now their weapon was stuck in the ground. Tempest saw a perfect opportunity for a strike and closed the distance to the guardian while Ornstein still fended off the last scarecrow and had to learn that its weapon stuck into the ground wasn't a disadvantage for the guardian, because as it pulled it out of the ground, it created a shock wave that let Tempest fly.

Scrambling on the ground, searching for his Estus to heal what felt like broken rips and several lacerations, Tempest spotted out of the corner from his eye how Ornstein took up the fight with the guardian. Even the dragon slayer needed a few strikes before the guardian fell, with a thud that shook the ground almost as much as its weapon striking the ground.

"I never liked these constructs.", Ornstein murmured to himself. "Made out of stone, lightning isn't very effective against them."

Tempest once again asked himself if Ornstein had forgot that he could smash stone, but remembered that it wasn't easy when the foe was moving around and he doubted that he would be able to parry a blow of this mace. He went to take a better look at the now (hopefully) dead guardian and actually found another piece of armour not far from it. As he picked it up, Ornstein already had turned his attention to another narrow stone bridge that spanned over a gap.

"Ornstein, would you finally tell me what is happening?", Tempest said, running up to him, carefully setting his feet onto the stone bridge. He had been dragged over the first one and didn't really trust the bridge, but judging that Ornstein had no trouble crossing it, it was impossible for the bridge to collapse from Tempest weight.

"I told you, there is no time.", Ornstein said. "We have to hurry."

"Hurry for what?", Tempest asked, growing impatient, but his building anger got completely blown away when a huge black dragon landed on the bridge, stared at them, no..., it stared at Ornstein and then flew away again.

Ornstein had stopped dead in his tracks and looked as perplexed as Tempest felt.

"Kalameet?! Now I am absolutely sure we have gone back in time! It's impossible for him to be alive!", he shouted and then grabbed Tempest, threw him over his shoulder and kept him into a firm grip before breaking out into a run.

"Ornstein, that dragon!", Tempest brought out. "Is that why you hurry so much? Do you want to hunt it?" Though thinking about it, Ornstein had acted as if the dragon had been long dead... had he killed it in his past?

"The dragon isn't of any concern right now.", Ornstein said, following a path way that was far too narrow for Tempest's taste, with a surely deadly drop on the right and a several metres high hill on the left side, meaning two things, that rolling wasn't a good idea here and that enemies could just drop down from above.

The latter thing even proved to be true, because when Tempest looked up he saw a guardian patrolling the area and then jumping down, landing right in front of Ornstein.

"I don't have time for you.", Ornstein growled and smashed the guardian into bits, rebutting Tempest's earlier assumption that Ornstein had forgot about his stone shattering ability. Tempest shuddered a bit, he never had seen Ornstein in such a state... the dragon slayer felt... restless, impatient and... angered and it wasn't because of Tempest this time.

"Ornstein, you act weird.", Tempest said, helplessly hanging in the dragon slayer's grip. "Please tell me what this is all about. Why are you so... upset?"

"I am not upset.", Ornstein said, following a small tunnel like area that led into another spacious part of the garden, though this time with more altitude differences and quite a few gaps. Ornstein stopped and stared at the ground. Tempest curiously followed his gaze, seeing a purple goo like substance covering the ground. On closer inspection of the chasm next to them, it also felt like purple smoke emitted from there.

"Oh, oh no.", Ornstein said. "It can't be too late, please, it just can't."

Ornstein turned to the left and started to jog again, even though Tempest didn't eat anymore, he felt a bit of bile in his throat from the constant shaking as Ornstein carried him. Hopefully he would set him down soon, Tempest really wasn't looking forward to experience how it felt to puke out Estus.

Another scarecrow faced them, this time carrying giant scissors. "I don't have time for you.", Ornstein snarled and Tempest saw the scarecrow falling on the ground in one attack. Just what had happened to Ornstein? The knight who always encouraged Tempest to fight his own battles and who was always so annoyed having to be his companion, now proved just how strong he was and how easily he could have fulfilled Tempest's mission on his own. Along with the nausea Tempest also felt his anger coming back. He felt shut out and as soon as Ornstein was distracted by a scarecrow charging at him, he dropped of the dragon slayer's back and rolled onto the ground, catching himself.

Tempest looked back at Ornstein and decided that he was fine on his own and started to wander off, until he was on the edge of the hill they apparently had climbed up. He looked straight at a waterfall which disgorged into a valley, several puddles twinkling in the sun, giving the valley a beautiful look. The more Tempest looked at it, the more familiar it became to him... it was like he had seen this exact area before, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

Tempest strolled along at the edge of the hill, enjoying the view, feeling lucky that there actually were no enemies there. He stumbled about a corpse during his walk, of course even something beautiful must be tainted like that and found that it was holding a giant arrow. It was the largest arrow Tempest ever had seen, even larger than the javelin's of the silver knights.

"Little Storm, who told you you can wander off?", Ornstein appeared behind Tempest and he looked more than pissed, though his stance changed and he flinched when he saw that Tempest was holding. "Gough...", Ornstein said, "So you have tried... you wanted to hunt him down..."

"Ornstein?", Tempest asked, bitterness creeping into his voice because he just didn't know what Ornstein was talking about. He had mentioned the name of one of the other knights, the giant archer, and Tempest was starting to feel sick and tired that he wasn't a part of the world that Ornstein seemingly was so lost in.

"Later.", Ornstein said and instead of shouldering Tempest, he took him by the wrist and practically dragged him along the ground again. Tempest opened his mouth to complain, but shut it again, there wasn't a way that he would get one clear word out of Ornstein, so he decided to play along with his fate which was getting dragged over the ground by a tall knight in golden lion armour.

On the way Tempest saw several more dead scarecrows, implying that Ornstein actually had managed to clear quite a way before he had noticed that Tempest was missing. The small Undead wasn't too sure if he should be proud that he escaped Ornstein or be mad that the dragon slayer hadn't noticed him missing at all. With his already sour mood about not knowing anything about the situation, Tempest decided to be mad.

His mood almost lifted when he looked to the left and actually saw some of the scarecrows tending to the trees, that looked kinda cute, but also made him feel a stab of guilt. Had he just stood there idle while Ornstein had killed innocent gardeners? No, they had attacked first, there wasn't a reason to feel guilty. Especially because Tempest actually hadn't done anything. He pretty much didn't had the chance to shine once they had entered the garden, only when he took out the obvious trap. Tempest started to pout as Ornstein dragged him along, stopping as he saw two guardians rather close to each other.

"Damn.", Ornstein said. "Little Storm, be useful for once and help me out here."

Finally Ornstein let go of Tempest and he could barely believe what he heard. "Be useful for once?!", he snapped. "Ornstein, you didn't even-" Tempest's words got drowned out by Ornstein having charged forward, confronting both of the guardians at once, leaving Tempest to deal with four very aggressive scarecrows.

On the spur of the moment Tempest got out his pyromancy flame and hurled a fireball at the scarecrows, which made them all collapse and gleefully burn to ashes. Tempest hoped that he didn't accidentally had started a forest fire when Ornstein smashed the second guardian and the knight just dragged him along again. He entered a small building, not unlike the one from earlier and stepped on a floor panel, which made a stone plate appear. Ornstein stepped on it and it moved down again. Once Ornstein had exited the stone building, with Tempest struggling to keep up with his pace, they looked straight at the coliseum from earlier.

"Finally.", Ornstein said. "That took too long. No thanks to you for wandering off, little Storm."

Now Tempest had enough. Enough of not knowing anything, enough of being berated by Ornstein, enough of being dragged around. "Ornstein, STOP IT!", Tempest shouted, surprised by the volume of his own voice. "You didn't tell me anything, you just dragged me around, you told me I was useless while not even giving me a chance to fight! Did you even see how I burned down these scarecrows earlier? What is wrong with you?!" At the end of his rant, Tempest noticed that tears had started to stream down his face.

Ornstein seemed to clearly taken aback by this, stammering: "L.. little Storm, I am sorry... I... It's hard to explain..."

The reasonable part of Tempest knew that he should just sit down and wait until Ornstein had figured out his words, but with his mood being so cranky from having yelled at, from having to fight a strange bird cat creature, from being dragged along the whole garden and from Ornstein just not telling him anything, he had enough.

"You know what, Ornstein? Forget it. You never tell me anything anyway. You are just following me around so that you can reunite with your old lover.", Tempest snapped and stomped away, not seeing how much the dragon slayer had flinched at his last words.

As Tempest looked back at Ornstein after a few minutes, to see if he had followed him, he saw that he dragon slayer had moved closer to the coliseum. Tempest felt a slight pang at his chest that Ornstein let him wander off, apparently more interested what was happening in there. He crossed his arms and walked further, until he crossed another small stone bridge and stood in front of a figure with a curious outfit.

"Uh, hello.", Tempest said, waving to the stranger, noticing that they wore a mask over their face. While he was used to the other Undead being in full armour and hiding their faces too, this felt different... it was like this stranger hid their face on purpose.

The stranger turned their head to look directly at Tempest and spoke: "Hm.. Oh, let me guess... Snatched by a shadowy limb and dragged off to the past?"

"How did you know that?!", Tempest shouted.

"Yes, of course. Exactly what happened to me. We are both strangers in this strange land. But, at least now there are two of us.", he spoke, his voice carrying a tone of mischief. He hadn't given his name yet, but because of his looks and his voice Tempest decided to call him Chester in his head.

"Actually, I didn't came alone.", Tempest said and turned around to point at the direction where Ornstein was standing. "Ornstein came with me too. Oh, I am Tempest by the way."

"Ornstein? Are you sure you aren't mistaken?", Chester spoke. "It's Knight Artorias you should have come across. The legendary Abysswalker, from the old tales …Well, if you haven't, it's just as well… He's a colourless sort, if you ask me."

"You are the third person mentioning Artorias once I came here.", Tempest said.

"One surely was that giant mushroom, but the other? It can't be that you are travelling with the one they call the dragon slayer. It is said that he hasn't left Anor Londo for centuries." Tempest had the feeling that Chester had a grin under this mask and he also had the feeling that he was very right about this last statement. Also, how should he explain to him that this was the real Ornstein and not just someone wearing his armour? By showing how he slayed a dragon? Technically, that would be possible, with the black dragon around, but...

"Forget about this.", Chester suddenly spoke. "How about some business? Anything you might need?"

Tempest spent a bit of time looking at his wares and quickly determined that these goods were seriously overpriced. He still bought a few arrows, not wanting to offend him. He had gotten quite a few souls from all the enemies Ornstein had slain in the gardens.

He then tried to get a few more informations out of Chester, but he simply cut he talk short. Tempest just shrugged and then wandered off, spotting a stone building in the distance he wanted to explore. He almost had forgot about Ornstein and his anger while talking to Chester, but now that he was alone with his thoughts again it surfaced.

"Stupid Ornstein.", he murmured. "Always speaks in riddles, never tells me anything. Why did I even fall for him when he doesn't actually like me? He surely makes fun about me behind his back, I am just this dumb idiot who couldn't even hold a sword right and..."

Tempest's rant trailed off. It was true, he had been just a militia, recruited to fight in a war that had been already lost, receiving only bare bones training, barely knowing how to properly wield a sword and still, Ornstein had taken the time and taught him. Ornstein had tasted his food and said that he liked it. Ornstein had allowed him to wash his hair. Ornstein had been at his side all this time, calling him an idiot countless time, but most of the time he had called him little Storm. If Ornstein didn't like him, hated him even, would he have acted like this at all? Wouldn't he have acted more like earlier, when he just had dragged Tempest through the gardens?

As Tempest looked up, feeling like he had made a terrible mistake, deeply regretting the words he had thrown to Ornstein earlier, he realized that he had rode on an elevator and was in the exact same stone building which Ornstein had tried to activate earlier.

Tempest stepped down from the panel and on it again, riding it back down. He was so stupid, why hadn't he waited for Ornstein to explain himself? Why had he just ran off? What if he had lost Ornstein forever about this dumb words?

As Tempest ran across a perplexed Chester, he hoped that Ornstein would still be there, that he wouldn't have gone further without him. Tempest needed him, not only his strength, but his company. He loved it whenever Ornstein affectionately called him little Storm, when he tasted his food, when he gave him a compliment because Tempest had been capable for once. By the gods, Tempest had felt so lonely before Ornstein came to accompany on his journey and he never wanted to live through this again, the feel of nearly losing his mind, crushed by losing everyone around him. He didn't want to lose that most important bond he had tied with Ornstein.

Ornstein was still there, standing near the coliseum, leaned on his spear. Tempest ran up to him and choked out: "Ornstein, I am sorry!"

"What for?", Ornstein asked, he tried to sound unfazed and bored, but the quivering in his voice betrayed him. He had taken Tempest's harsh words to heart, he just knew it.

"For saying these things to you earlier.", Tempest said.

"It's alright.", Ornstein said and then sighed. "It is I who should be sorry. I haven't treated you well. I yelled at you for getting us into this situation, then I nearly have let myself get killed by the sanctuary guardian and then, when I realized where we are, I just told you to shut up and dragged you along."

Ornstein kneeled down and leaned his head down: "I wholeheartedly apologize for my unknightly behaviour."

Even kneeling Ornstein was as big as Tempest. While Tempest had the sudden urge to just go and hug Ornstein, he had the feeling the knight wouldn't appreciate it and instead said: "Um... please rise? Oh, do I have to say something.. like... you are forgiven?"

Ornstein rose to his feet and said: "Little Storm, you deserve an explanation. I just have to let you know, that I swore an oath to never tell the truth to anyone, so I told you that I would explain it to you later... but then later came and I still couldn't explain it to you. While I swore to never tell this story to anyone outside those in the know, I will try to explain it to the best of my abilities."

Tempest hold his breath. Ornstein really intended to tell him the truth, that was so exciting!

"It is about Artorias.", Ornstein started, but before he could continue, there was a loud noise coming from the coliseum. Ornstein's head twirled around to the entrance. "Shit shit shit.", he hissed. "I am sorry, little Storm, I need to check his out!"

Ornstein broke into a jog towards the coliseum, not dragging Tempest with him this time. The small Undead followed him and once he caught up, he said: "Ornstein, whatever it is that you are trying to do, I won't leave your side."

Ornstein didn't say anything, instead he had his gaze fixed on something on the distance, both of his hands were glued to his spear and his fingers were trembling. Tempest followed his gaze and spotted a distantly human looking figure. It had arms and legs, but they were unusually long, their skin was of a strange blackish purple and their head, their head consisted of tentacles. Tempest shuddered at that sight in front of him and winced when a sword from above drove deep into the body of the creature, impaling it, blood splattering onto the ground.

Tempest now knew why Ornstein was trembling. That silhouette, that figure, that was... the legendary Abysswalker Artorias himself. A second or so passed and the knight used it to drove his sword even deeper into his prey, before he looked up and gazed in their direction. Tempest couldn't see his face, Artorias was wearing a hood, but his face seemed to vanish in the thickest blackness he had ever seen. Artorias' gaze was on them for a little while and Tempest asked himself why the wolf knight didn't say anything. Well, he clearly didn't knew Tempest, but Ornstein was standing right next to him. Surely Artorias would recognize his companion and captain.

However, Artorias didn't utter a single world and neither did Ornstein. Looking from Artorias to Ornstein, Tempest noticed that the dragon slayer's trembling had increased and he took a step back.

"Ornstein, what...?", Tempest asked, but Ornstein simply shook his head and muttered: "...Artorias...", Tempest wasn't even sure if Ornstein had heard him or not. The small Undead looked back at Artorias, the wolf knight looked down at himself and Tempest had the feeling that his body displayed surprise. Tempest's gaze followed the one of Artorias and he held his breath as he saw that a purplish looking cloud was starting to raise from the ground, quickly engulfing the wolf knight who reacted to the ordeal with a low growl, reminding Tempest of a dog, no, the wolf the knight personified.

"No, I can't be too late...", Ornstein muttered next to Tempest. Tempest stared at Ornstein with wide eyes and then jumped when the corpse that Artorias had impaled earlier came flying, smacked against the wall and stayed motionless on the ground. One look at the wolf knight and the way he had readied his sword made it clear for Tempest that he wasn't here to have a nice chat.

"Careful, Ornstein, he's coming.", Tempest shouted, not knowing why Artorias should attack them, but he was also very keen on not being impaled by that majestically, but deadly looking sword. However, just as before, as they had fought the bird cat, Ornstein just stood there, not making a single move.

"Oh no...", Tempest murmured as Artorias howled like a wolf and readied his sword for what looked like a thrusting attack.

Ornstein had known that this was coming, but seeing it for himself, not just hearing from the tales of Ciaran or Gough, made it so much worse. As soon as he had realized they were in Oolacile, Artorias had been at the front of his mind, the hope that he still could save him deep into his heart and here they were, Artorias lost to the Abyss and... why was fate so cruel to bring him back to this exact day? Was there no way, but to end Artorias' suffering by his own hand? No, that couldn't be true. Artorias surely still was somewhere in there, somewhere in the being that was bent over and broken and which leaked a black gooey sludge, his old friend still had to be around.

Ornstein saw the attack that Artorias prepared. It was a thrust attack, he had seen it countless time, he knew how his friend fought and he knew that he should step to the side, but Ornstein's feet were glued to the ground. He couldn't believe it, he had fought so many duels against Artorias, but the wolf knight had never ever seriously hurt him. He would stop, he had to stop, Artorias would never even think about hurting Ornstein.

Blood splattered once Artorias had dashed forwards, but there was no pain. Ornstein touched his chest only to see that his gauntlets were dry. Ornstein's gaze wandered down to see... that the little Storm had been impaled on the sword, clearly having thrown himself between Ornstein and the attack.

"Artorias, stop it!", Ornstein suddenly shouted, still feeling glued to the ground, but at least his vocal barrier was gone. "This isn't you!"

Artorias slowly pulled his sword out of Tempest's chest, who coughed up a little blood and collapsed, already searching for the Estus Flask on his belt. Ornstein's attention went back to his old friend and while Artorias took a few steps back, he could see in what a bad state he was. His shield was missing, his left arm dangled down as if broken multiple times and he limped. Memories of Artorias' corpse flashed through Ornstein's mind and he felt bile rising up his throat, thickly swallowing it back down.

Artorias broke into a run and raised his sword. Ornstein braced himself, he needed to snap Artorias out of it, he had to. This was his last chance, he couldn't lose Artorias, not again. He opened his mouth when he heard Tempest shouting: "Hey, over here! Fight me!"

The little Storm was jumping up and down, his own sword raised over his head, clearly trying to get Artorias' attention and to Ornstein's horror, it worked. The wolf knight got on all fours and Ornstein recognized that stance, it was a bit more wild than usual, but he would leap through the air and impale anything that was so unlucky to be on the other end of his sword.

"Artorias, stop!", Ornstein yelled again. "Nobody here is your enemy!"

Tempest eyes widened when he saw Artorias leaping through the air, that was more than impressive. Though, he didn't had time to be impressed, he wasn't keen having another encounter with that sword, the first time had hurt bad enough. Tempest rolled to the side literally at the last second before the sword impacted with the ground and when he got his footing back, he saw that Artorias struggled with the aftermath of the recoil and ran over to take the opportunity for a hit, only stopping when Ornstein shouted: "No, don't hurt him! I can get through him, I know I can."

Tempest hesitated for a second and that second was enough for Artorias to recover and raise his sword. Tempest gasped and rolled to the side before the sword could cut him down, but overlooked that the wolf knight swung his sword back from below and got a nasty wound in his side, one hand shooting down to cover the fresh wound, feeling the fresh blood which seeped into the sandy ground of the arena. Instead of going for the kill, Artorias lost interest in Tempest and turned back to Ornstein, who... still was standing there, spear in both hands raised in front of him, shaking like a leaf in a storm and mumbling: "No, Artorias, you don't have to do this. Fight against it. I... can't see this happen to you again, I just can't. Please! Break out of it! You don't have to listen to him!"

Tempest had no clue who that "him" was, that Ornstein was talking about. He had taken a sip of Estus to heal the wounds from the latest attack and gasped as he saw how close Artorias already was to Ornstein. He... he wouldn't make it anymore. Ornstein would let himself cut down by Artorias and... Tempest couldn't let this happen. He couldn't lose Ornstein. He needed him.

"Artorias, stop this! He's not your enemy! As am I! Don't you recognize me? It's me, Ornstein!", Ornstein yelled as Artorias raised his sword. "...Ciaran is waiting for you.", Ornstein added and Artorias seemed to flinch for a fraction of a second, only a fraction, before his sword bolted down, ready to cut Ornstein in half.

Tempest couldn't take this anymore. People like Artorias... he had seen countless of them, only driven by a desire to kill, to fill the hole in their chest, a person he himself had almost become and he didn't want to see how Ornstein died because he refused to fight back, even if that was his old friend.

"Ornstein, don't you see it?!", Tempest screamed. "He's already hollow!"

These words were finally, finally enough for Ornstein to break out of his stupor, but he dodged just a fraction of a second too late, the sword of the wolf knight connected with the dragon slayer's left arm and warm blood seeped out of the joints of his armour as the dragon slayer hissed in suppressed pain.

"Artorias, I am so sorry.", Ornstein said. "I was hoping to get through to you, but it is too late.", Ornstein's left arm dangled down not unlike Artorias' one and he raised his spear. "This is your last chance. If you are in there, say something, anything!"

Artorias' only response was a howl and Ornstein glanced down at the ground for a second, blinking back the tears he felt welling up in his eyes. "I wish it wouldn't have come to this..."

When Artorias' next sword strike bolted down, Ornstein's spear was there to parry it, a loud clang resonated through the arena.

"At last...", Tempest murmured, glad that Ornstein finally broke out of it, that Ornstein wouldn't let himself kill by his old friend. Tempest needed Ornstein and it was not because of the mission he had to fulfil, but in a sense, Ornstein had saved him from his loneliness. Tempest was sure that once something happened to Ornstein, he would go hollow.

Tempest took his sword in both hands and came running at Artorias, planning to join the fight, but once he was there and planned to thrust his sword into Artorias' leg, Ornstein's spear came rushing into his direction and knocked his sword out of his hands.

"Don't interfere.", Ornstein said. "This is my fight."

Tempest simply nodded and after watching the fight for a minute, he quickly determined that he would only be in the way. This wasn't some giant monster or dragon they could fight together, this was a duel between knights. Tempest would only be in the way. He went to fetch his sword and then fell back to simply observe.

Ornstein had fought countless duels against Artorias, but he had to admit, both of them were in bad shape. Artorias' body was battered from his fight against the abyss beast, his shield was missing and he had to wield his sword with his non dominant arm. Ornstein on the other hand lost the use of his non dominant arm, but a lot of his techniques required for him to two hand his weapon. Also, Ornstein's mental state hadn't been the best for a while and seeing his best friend in this state was something that had plagued Ornstein's nightmares for years.

It didn't feel like a honourable duel between knights, but a struggle between two gravely injured animals.

Still, Ornstein had to be amazed at how elegant and at the same time fierce Artorias still fought. Even when gravely injured, even when the sludge of the abyss oozed out of his body, the wolf knight still knew how to wield his sword, strung his strikes together to beautiful combos and managed to evade Ornstein's owns strikes with a narrow loop again and again while Ornstein's quickness made him able to evade the powerful, but slow strikes of Artorias' and his own strength allowed him to parry the ones that wouldn't shatter the ground.

The both knights were locked in a dance, a beautiful, but deadly dance, circling each other, searching for a way to strike, only to be meet with a dodge or a parry of the other party whenever one of them dared to attack. After a while, Artorias' seemed to grow tired of the dance, because he made two back flips in quick succession and stopped, clutching his sword.

Ornstein saw his chance and kneeled down, preparing for his powerful dash, but before he started the attack, he stopped, a pang in his stomach. As he looked up, Artorias had started to growl again and the same smoke that had engulfed him earlier concentrated around his sword.

"Be careful, Ornstein.", Ornstein could hear the little Storm yell from the wall. "That looks dangerous."

"I know.", Ornstein snarled. Why had he hesitated earlier? It hadn't been the pain in his arm, he had... felt guilty. Yes, he had stopped because he had felt guilty. Wasted a perfect chance. He couldn't waste another chance.

Ornstein had dwelled a bit too long in his thoughts, because Artorias was suddenly in front of him and swung his sword, Ornstein forced his injured left arm to raise his spear with both hands just in time to block it, skidding back several feet, that blow had been far stronger than the ones before, pain exploded in his left arm and even his uninjured right one seemed to get numb.

Artorias didn't waste any time and followed up the blow with his signature spin attack, which Ornstein avoided with a shaky back step and then Artorias hit Ornstein with a strike from below while doing a back flip, sending even the dragon slayer flying and collapsing with the ground, Ornstein's left arm now felt like it was on fire and he almost lost the grip on his spear. His eyes widened as he saw Artorias in the air above him and he rolled to the side just in time before Artorias could impale him, struggling to get to his feet. Just as he managed, Artorias had recovered from his attack and it was back to their dance, with none of them giving the enemy any room to breath.

"You always said my dodging style was ridiculous.", Tempest said with crossed arms as he watched the continuation of the duel. It was kind of beautiful to watch and at the same time, it was kind of sad. These two must have been the greatest duo in the army of Anor Londo and Tempest shuddered thinking about how it would have felt to fight both at them at once. He considered himself lucky that Ornstein had been paired with the executioner instead and that fight had been an absolute nightmare. If Ornstein and Artorias would have fought against him, he probably would have hollowed.

As Tempest watched the duel, he had the impression that Ornstein slowed down, blood loss probably. Even though Artorias looked in a rather bad shape too, Tempest had began to understand that he was corrupted by the Abyss or as he had put it earlier, had gone hollow and Hollows never cared for pain. He was like a wild berserker, not feeling pain, not feeling any emotions, just bent on killing his prey.

"You can do it, Ornstein.", Tempest whispered and folded his hands. "I believe in you."

Ornstein indeed was starting to feel the effects the blood loss and the duration of the fight had on him. He needed to end this quickly or he was unsure if he would get out of this fight... alive. Then he would never be able to search out this master, never be able to escort Tempest to the first flame, never be able to taste the little Storm's meal ever again and never be able to see the next idiocy he would bring them into. Huh, since when revolved his life so much around the little Storm? He hadn't even thought about Smough, had he already accepted his death?

While Ornstein had been lost in his thoughts, Artorias had retreated again, from the stance he would try and channel the power of the abyss another time. This was Ornstein's chance, probably his last chance, he wouldn't hold through another parry dance with Artorias. He kneeled down and dashed, his spear held in front of him, planning to impale Artorias on the tip, how he had done so many times before, how he had done with so many dragons and drakes, how he had done so many times to the little Storm, but once he was in front of Artorias, he jerked his spear up and came to a screeching halt.

He was shivering, his spear didn't want to move, Ornstein's body felt paralyzed as he saw the cloud engulfing Artorias, his nightmare in front of his inner eye, the nightmare in which he had been forced to lay an end to Artorias and... he never had managed.

"I... I can't...", Ornstein said, his voice quivering and then he threw his spear to the ground and shouted: "I can't do this to you, Artorias!" Ornstein kneeled down and extended both arms, fully accepting that he would die at Artorias' hands, sending a silent apology to Gwyndolin that he wasn't able to fulfil his mission, just hoping that the little Storm would be able to fulfil the mission on his own, as much as it pained Ornstein to admit, while still an idiot, he had become quite competent lately.

"Ornstein!", the dragon slayer could hear Tempest's voice through the cloud that his mind had become and then as he felt warm blood splattering against his armour, he opened his eyes only to see that Tempest had driven his own sword deep into the chest of Artorias.

Tempest hadn't really realized that he had started running as soon as Ornstein had thrown away his spear. He had clutched his sword with both hands and called Ornstein's name, not believing, not wanting to see how Ornstein would sacrifice his own life for someone who had went hollow, who was lost, who would just search the next prey. Before Tempest had even realized any of these things, he had driven his sword deep into the chest of the wolf knight.

Eyes wide in shock, Tempest pulled his sword out and more blood, mixed with that black goo, shot out of the wound, soiling both him and Ornstein. He slowly lowered his sword, releasing the breath he had hold and then gasped as Ornstein grabbed him by the collar.

"What have you DONE?!", Ornstein shouted. "You killed him!"

"He was going to kill you, Ornstein!", Tempest shouted back. "I... I can't lose you, Ornstein. I can't. He was lost, he was already hollow!"

"We... we could have still saved him!", Ornstein shouted, but his voice betrayed him. He had been fully accepting of dying at Artorias' hand, simply because he was unable to deal the killing blow himself and that after him and Smough had agree that they would mercy kill each other should one of them over lose. Well, judging by that Ornstein was still there, Smough hadn't been able to go through with it either. All this, the fight, the pain, Artorias dead in front of him and the thoughts of Smough were too much and Ornstein could fear tears stream down his face as he collapsed to the ground.

"Ornstein...?", a gentle, but broken voice sounded and the dragon slayer gasped, jerking his head around to see Artorias' face, corrupted and tainted, but that was his face and his voice, he had managed it, he had finally managed to break through the corruption.

"Artorias, hang in there, we can still help you, we can still heal you!", he yelled, wanted to yell, but it came out as a broken sob.

"Ornstein, it's too late.", Artorias said and as Tempest came nearer, he finally got a look on the wolf knight's face, it looked gentle, but battle-tested, with eyes as grey as storm clouds and a horizontal scare right above the bridge of his nose. "I will die soon, but please don't guilt yourself, it was my own fault. I... couldn't kill him. Please, find Sif and take her back home... and...", he coughed a bit, blood running down his lips. Ornstein was holding his head and murmured: "Artorias, don't talk, don't say something like this, we still can..."

"...tell Ciaran I am sorry.", Artorias finished and Tempest couldn't help but grab the wolf knight's hand, having the feeling he could make him feel more at ease while dying.

"Ah, though...", Artorias coughed again, his eyes glancing over to Tempest. "Thou are the dark. Th.. thank thee for cutting me down." Another cough. "Th.. thank thee for not letting me live like this."

"Artorias...", Ornstein sniffled and Tempest could see that he had taken the wolf knight's other hand in his own.

"Ah, Sif, there you are.", Artorias said, coughing another time. "All of you, forgive me. For I have availed you nothing."

After these words were spoken, Artorias' drew a last shaky breath and then Tempest could feel how the hand that had clutched his went limp as a purplish soul swirling with dark particles manifested in front of him. 

(Author's note: Yeah, uh, I knew you all were hoping for me to save Artorias, but I had planned to follow his canonical death through for a long time now, so I apologize wholeheartedly to everyone who was hoping otherwise. I used some of Artorias' cut voice lines at the end, surely you can find them. At least I wanted to give Artorias a peaceful ending, that he didn't had to die alone.

Also, I know the area is called Royal Woods, but I always saw it as a garden and later it turns into the Dark Root Garden, so a garden it is.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, for all the angst that I put in it, but they, it's the DLC and we all knew that it would be angsty as hell. I promise a bit more fluff soon, I only can take that much angst as once myself. Please stay tuned and tell me what your favourite part was down in the comments.

Again, thanks to everyone who wrote a comment on the last chapter or directly told me their thoughts, your support is what keeps me going and I hope you want to see Ornstein's and Tempest's journey through until the very end.)


	27. Chapter 27

Summary: Ornstein needs a moment after Artorias' death, so Tempest leaves him be for the moment, exploring on his own, only for the dragon slayer to appear and tell him some bad news.

(Author's note: I was suddenly super inspired for this fic, so I decided to write the next chapter earlier. Please enjoy!

While not technically fanart for this fic, the wonderful Velvialines drew Ornstein and the little Storm as frogs, which you can find on their tumblr (attempted link: post/619719879605534720/frogstein-and-little-frog-although-i-am ), so please give them some love.)

"Come on, where is it?!", Tempest murmured to himself as he was searching through Ornstein's bag, tossing a canteen and several wrapped pieces of jerky on the ground as well as a bag that smelled like it was filled with herbs (was that catmint?!). He only stopped tossing stuff on the ground, when he had a tea cup in the form of a dragon in his hand. Tempest delicately put it on the ground, pulled out a wooden dragon as well as a scarf with a dragon design, briefly wondering if he should use the scarf to bandage Ornstein's wound, when he finally found some bandages stuffed at the very bottom of Ornstein's bag.

Tempest unreeled the bandages, glanced at Ornstein who was currently still sitting near the lifeless body of Artorias and then used his sword to cut the right amount that would be needed to wrap Ornstein's arm. Once the bandages were prepared, Tempest walked over to Ornstein.

"Ornstein.", he started. "We need to bandage your arm."

Ornstein had his head lowered, his gaze probably fixed on Artorias, a face that looked peaceful. If not for the grave wounds on the wolf knights body, somebody could have thought he was merely sleeping.

"Leave me alone.", Ornstein said without raising his head.

"...I know that you need some space.", Tempest said, shifting from foot to foot, feeling uncomfortable. "But let me at least help you bandage your arm first, you are bleeding." Tempest proceeded to come closer to Ornstein and attempted to remove the armour covering the dragon slayer's left arm, but before he could strip even one piece of metal, Ornstein was shoving him with his good arm, making Tempest land on the ground with a thud.

"I said, leave me alone, little Storm!", Ornstein shouted and for the first time since Artorias had drawn his last breath, he looked at Tempest and despite all the rage and grief in his heart, he couldn't help but feel guilty, seeing the little Storm sitting on the ground like that, with his big blue eyes showing a certain disbelief, and, oh no, were these tears welling up in them?

"Please let me help you, Ornstein.", Tempest said, getting up and slowly walking back to the dragon slayer, fiddling with his armour once again.

"Fine.", Ornstein said, averting his gaze and looking down at Artorias again. He never had wanted to live through this ever again and now he had, up close and he now also knew just who had been the mysterious nameles Undead who had killed him. Freed him. His mind knew that Tempest had done the right thing, but Ornstein's heart wasn't ready to forgive him yet.

"Oh, ouch.", Tempest said once he had stripped Ornstein's armour and saw the amount of damage on his arm. The wound was hefty, a deep gash, that surely would need stitches to heal properly. The area around the wound was heavily bruised and Tempest didn't want to know how bad it would look once it started to heal.

All Tempest could do for now was cleaning it, with Ornstein not even flinching, his mind was somewhere completely else and then wrapping the bandages around it tightly to prevent further bleeding. He regretted that he had forgotten almost anything about proper first aid and how to treat wounds, because as an Undead, Estus would heal any wound and if the Estus was failing, a bonfire would and if the Estus was empty and no bonfire in sight, death would await him and he had to take a long, arduous journey again, hoping to retrieve the souls he had lost.

"There.", Tempest said once the arm was completely covered by bandages. "This should hold you over until we manage to return to Anor Londo and Gw..., the Dark Sun, can have a look on it."

Ornstein didn't answer and Tempest got the message. Ornstein wanted to be left alone, how he had said earlier, so Tempest quickly put Ornstein's belonging back in his bag and then grabbed for his own.

"I will explore the garden.", he said. "Don't worry, I won't run off and I won't turn hollow.", Tempest took a few steps away from Ornstein before turning around another time, adding: "Please, don't turn hollow yourself..."

Tempest then went away with long strides, which still felt puny when compared to Ornstein's and crossed Chester, who looked at him. Tempest wondered if he had heard the fight, but wasn't too keen on talking with him or anyone at the moment, stepping on the elevator and riding it up. On the way, Tempest checked his Estus, it still was generously filled, because Ornstein had done the brunt of the fighting since they had last rested at a bonfire.

Arrived at the top of the garden, Tempest let his gaze wander over it and groaned. Ornstein had taken the shortest route to the coliseum and therefore all the guardians and scarecrows were still present. Tempest could at least spot three of the guardians and each and every one of them was accompanied by at least two scarecrows.

"Focus.", he said to himself, putting an arrow in his bow and bend it, letting the arrow fly, hitting one of the nearest scarecrows right in the head. "Yes.", Tempest whispered joyful to himself, his aim really was getting better. Though his joy was short lived, because the other scarecrow and the guardian were on their way.

Tempest switched to his sword and managed to get rid of the scarecrow by cutting off one of its arm as well as driving the sword into its head and then the guardian arrived. Tempest braced himself, his thoughts wandered to the giant sentinels of Anor Londo, foes that he never had quite figured out.

"Damn.", Tempest said to himself. "Why did it have to be giant stone knights?!"

Tempest managed to dodge out of the way of the first strike, but the second hit him and before he could even get up, he got hit a third time and found himself back at the bonfire.

Tempest sighed and searched for a humanity, but decided against it, he would probably die a few more times while he tried to figure out the guardians, so he shouldered his sword and went back into the garden, dispatching the first two scarecrows that had somehow repaired themselves in the meantime and walking back to the centre, luring out the scarecrows again and grabbing his souls before the guardian came too close.

Three deaths later Tempest had figured out how the guardians worked and was looking at the cleared centre of the garden, littered with the remains of scarecrows and guardians. There was a little pond in the middle. Tempest went near it, but couldn't see anything valuable, so he sat down, removed his boots and dipped his feet into the water. Despite his hollowed out body it was nice to feel how the water cooled his overheated food down and he sighed as he relaxed, getting out the soul of Artorias that had latched onto his darksign after the fight, investigating it and cradling it in his arms. It was fascinating, but also felt kind of sad. The souls of the other beings, especially the lord souls, had been light and full of flames, feeling warm, this soul was tainted with the dark, feeling cold and.. wrong.

"You know, Ornstein always said to me that you would like me.", Tempest said to the soul, even though he was pretty sure that Artorias wasn't able to hear him. Souls didn't possess any awareness and if, he would feel horrible for all the souls he had crushed to gain a bit more soul power. Still, it felt calming to talk to the soul, especially with Ornstein out of the commission for now.

"I was so excited to get to meet you.", Tempest said. "I didn't had a clue that it would end like this... Ornstein knew it, but he never told me. I always thought the legend of the Abysswalker that my mom told me was true. The great knight Artorias, who traversed the abyss, fought the Dark Wraiths and slayed the beast that had born the abyss itself and saved the princess abducted by it, but tragically fell shortly after that to his injuries..."

Tempest lightly squeezed the soul which wavered under his touch. "Who would have thought that it was all a lie...?"

Tears started to well up in Tempest's eyes: "And... and Ornstein! He knew about all this! He must have made sure that the false version spread. How must he have felt?! About knowing that you, his friend, failed his mission and he had to tell people a lie? I can't even fathom it. He... he must have been through so much..."

Tempest sniffled and wiped his eyes at his sleeves. "Look at how emotional I get over him. I have to admit, I have fallen for Ornstein. Fallen really hard for him, but... he doesn't like me the same. He wants to reconcile with his old master..."

Tempest looked at the soul in his hands and then continued: "Oh, but I shouldn't bother you with my problems. I need to come to terms with it. I am just a human, even worse, an undead, Ornstein is some kind of demigod, why should he ever fall for me? He only promised to escort me to the flame, after that, our ways will part."

Still, speaking it out aloud made something sting in Tempest's chest and it wasn't the darksign.

"...I want at least to be a good friend to him as long as we are still travelling together. Did you know that I found your old baking book? Ornstein told me that I can keep it. I still have it with me." Tempest put the soul in his lap and searched through his bag, producing the book. "There are so many recipes in there and I made the sheep cookies, because Ornstein likes sheep. He loved them. If not for my mission, I would love to stand in the kitchen and bake all of the recipes for him all day."

Tempest flipped through the book and rambled on: "Here, like the ginger bread cookies or the lemon pie or the dragon fruit cake or..." Tempest stopped as he read a certain note in the beautiful hand writing of the Abysswalker. "The apple pie... Artorias, you cared a lot for him, right? You two must have been best friends... I am... I am so sorry that I ripped you apart."

Tempest hugged the soul with both of his arms, the book on his lap falling to the ground, thankfully not into the water and he couldn't stop the tears from arising anew. It was all too sad. The fate of Artorias, a fallen and failed knight, how much his death hurt Ornstein, who practically had to live through it the second time and that it in fact had been Tempest who had taken him down, not wanting to lose Ornstein.

"I wish I had never picked up that pendant.", he choked out. "Then Ornstein wouldn't have gotten so hurt."

Tempest stayed like this for a few more minutes, until his tears ebbed off and then put Artorias soul back into his darksign, getting up. He felt really hot and sweaty and planned to wash his face a bit deeper in the pond, so he went closer to the middle only to trip and fall face first into the pond.

The good thing was, that he wasn't feeling hot and sweaty anymore, the bad thing was that his clothes were drenched and his foot hurt. As he shot up, gasping and coughing because of the water invading his lungs, he noticed that he had tripped over a chest. Not a mimic or he would have already been eaten.

"Huh, I didn't notice this earlier...", he said and proceeded to open the chest to reveal a titanite slab, blue in colour. "Hm, these were for the magic weapons...", Tempest murmured and his thoughts wandered to Griggs and Logan. Griggs had left Fire Link Shrine the last time he had been there and he had last seen Logan in the Duke's Archives. He should check on them once they managed to escape this place. After Ornstein had gotten proper treatment for his arm and be put into a bed and got some proper food.

Tempest waded through the pond back to dry land, pocketing the blue titanite slab, planning to give it to Rickert. The blacksmith had locked himself in, in fear of Lordran and was bored out of his mind. He seemed to excel on making magic weapons, so Tempest planned to gift him some of the weapons he didn't use for him to tinker.

Outside of the pond, Tempest got out a towel and dried himself off as good as he could, at least his armour was made out of leather and would be able to dry easily, not letting too much water to his skin. After Tempest was reasonably dry, he put on his boots and grabbed for his bag, when a shadow loomed over him.

"Oh, hey, Ornstein.", Tempest said, recognizing the sharp and spiky silhouette of the dragon slayer everywhere. "Are you feeling better?"

"It was you.", was all that Ornstein had to say as response.

"Excuse me?"

"It was you, little Storm! You are the Undead who fought and killed Artorias and the very same Undead went to take out the beast of the Abyss and even Kalameet! It was you!"

"Huh?", Tempest said, his eyeholes staring at Ornstein, slowly processing the information, before blurting out: "Wait, what?!"

"I know, it is hard to believe.", Ornstein said, crossing his arms, but wincing and relaxing his left arm, letting it dangle limply at his side.

"It's not hard to believe, it's downright impossible.", Tempest said, ruffling his wet hair with both of his hands. "I am a mess, Ornstein! I died a million times! I fought like... a whole week against you and the executioner and even after that, I wanted to give up and you had to come with me so that I had even the hint of a chance! How should I be the one who defeated this powerful foes?!"

"Little Storm, you need to calm down!", Ornstein said, holding both of Tempest's hand, which only made the Undead blush in return. "Don't forget that I am here with you. I will help you taking them down, but... you certainly need to play a part in it too. Don't be afraid. I know a lot about dragons and the beast of the Abyss has already been weakened by Artorias, you can do it."

Tempest took a few deep breathes and then nodded. "Y.. yes.. you are right. You are at my side, Ornstein. I can do anything when you are at my side."

Hearing that made Ornstein's heart sink a bit, remembering just what would happen to Tempest once they had reached the first flame. He shook off the bad feeling and decided to instead motivate Tempest a bit, regardless what happened to him in the future, in the current time he was still there: "Don't forget, little Storm, that you made it all the way to the Lordvessel by yourself. That is quite some achievement."

Tempest took a deep breath, putting a hand over his heart, or more, his darksign and said: "Y...yes, you are right. Thank you, Ornstein." Tempest straightened his posture and then looked at Ornstein's arm. "But... Ornstein, you are hurt. Will you be able to fight?"

"Oh, that...", Ornstein said. "Sure, it hurts, but I can still use my dominant arm. I should just try and don't strain my left arm too much. It least it doesn't appear to be broken, it is more a nasty cut."

Tempest grimaced, thinking about how deep the gash was and how heavily the arm had bruised already. "Are you sure you alright, Ornstein?", Tempest asked, referring to the emotional state of the dragon slayer.

"...I have to...", Ornstein said and Tempest was sure that Ornstein simply was hiding his feelings, that he would like to lay in bed and cry until his tears ran out, but that he was keeping it together for the sake of Tempest.

"A...alright then.", Tempest said and nodded again. "Then, uh, where should we head first?"

"The dragon.", Ornstein said. "I saw him flying over to the basin, we should take him out first. Besides, I fear that killing the beast will throw us back into our own time."

"Good.", Tempest said, feeling light headed. He had fought dragons before, but one had been a horrible abomination with far too many teeth and the other one had been some mad sorcerer. Fighting a dragon like the black one they had seen made him incredible nervous. He would spit fire, wouldn't he? Would Ornstein be able to stay calm in the fight? Didn't he knew the dragon from earlier? Then why was he still alive? Had Ornstein never slayed him?

"Wait.", Ornstein said, as Tempest turned around to head to the elevator. "Please regain your human form first."

"Oh, of course.", Tempest said and sprinted back to the bonfire.

As he returned, Ornstein waited for him next to the corpses of two scarecrows and started walking without saying a single word. Tempest followed him, also not saying a single word, assuming that Ornstein wasn't up for small talk and also because he was still nervous about having to fight this dragon.

The both of them rode down the elevator to the coliseum and Tempest followed Ornstein as he made a turn to the right, walking past Chester and entering a small chasm, crossing it with steady strides, Tempest running behind him, until Ornstein suddenly froze.

"Ugh, dogs...", Ornstein said and took a step back.

"Ugh...", Tempest joined in. "I hate them... They are so hard to hit and so fast and they killed me a few times surely..."

"L.. little Storm...", Ornstein gasped. "C.. could you take care of them? Me and dogs... don't... work."

"Um, alright.", Tempest said, staring at Ornstein whose whole stance was rather stiff. He took this sword in both hands and charged at he first dog he could see. While they were swift and nimble, they weren't able to sustain much damage and so one strike of Tempest's sword was enough to strike it down. Unfortunately, the painful yip of the now dead dog attracted two others and while Tempest fought them off, he managed to get bitten once.

"Ouch, they never want to let go...", Tempest hissed before he took a sip of Estus to heal the wound. Next to him, Ornstein seemed to relax.

"Thank you, little Storm.", he said, continuing to walk.

"You and animals really don't get along, huh?", Tempest said. "Well, besides sheep..."

"...I wasn't me who decided that they should dislike me.", Ornstein simply grumbled, still making a curve around the corpses. They would come back anyway, the dogs were undead. How in the world an animal managed to get a darksign and turn hollow was out of Tempest's understanding, but he stopped trying to make sense of stuff once he had arrived in Lordran. Especially when he had found a message on the ground that told him to jump and only led to another painful death. Why would another Undead play such a cruel prank? Tempest had marked the messenger as liar once he had came back from the dead.

Ornstein only stopped once they were at the top of a basin, the same one that Tempest had looked down earlier from another angle, he recognized the sound and sight of the massive waterfall. While Tempest was focusing on looking down though, searching for a way to safely descend, Ornstein looked up in the air. Tempest joined him when he heard the flap of wings and saw the black dragon soaring over the basin.

"So what is our plan?", Tempest asked. "You are the dragon slayer, so you probably know better than I how to tackle the fight."

"...I think we should go and talk to Gough.", Ornstein said.

"Huh?", Tempest looked at Ornstein. "Why? Shouldn't you be able to weaken it with your lightning? Jump on its back and clip its wings? Isn't your whole being a counterpoint for that dragon?"

"It isn't as easy as that, little Storm.", Ornstein said, shifting from foot to foot, readjusting his grip on his spear. "Why do you think this dragon is still around? Why do you think he is called Kalameet? That dragon managed to beat me. In fact, he is the reason for that scar on my left shoulder and back."

Tempest's eyes went wide as he stared at Ornstein. There was a dragon that Ornstein hadn't been able to say. The dragon slayer had failed to slay this exact dragon. And now said dragon slayer wanted for Tempest to slay the dragon he couldn't.

"You couldn't slay it and now you expect for me to slay it?!", Tempest practically screamed at Ornstein.

"It happened. I saw Kalameet's corpse. Gough confirmed to me that it was the same Undead that had slain Artorias." Tempest didn't miss the bitterness in Ornstein's voice at the last part. "Under normal circumstances, I would be able to get that dragon from the sky and help you preparing him for the finishing blow, but... I am hurt." Ornstein raised his left arm with quite some effort and then let it hang limp again. "And you are no match for a dragon that isn't grounded. It is luck that Gough is here, because he can shoot Kalameet out of the sky. In fact, he told me that he helped with grounding Kalameet, so we absolutely need to talk to him. Or, you should talk to him. I shouldn't even be here."

"Oh, alright.", Tempest said, a bit disappointed that he couldn't see Ornstein, the dragon slayer, in action again, but he had a good point about being hurt. Ornstein hadn't mentioned it, but he wasn't only physically hurt, his emotions were properly all over the place too, even though he tried very hard to stay calm and collected. Tempest wondered if a part of Ornstein resented him, because he had preferred to end Artorias's suffering instead of hoping that he would break out of the corruption.

"Where is Gough?", Tempest asked, already turning around.

"In a tower watching over the coliseum. That is why he knew all about the fight with Artorias. He had heard everything."

Heard, not seen? Only a few moments after Ornstein had finished speaking, Tempest rememberd that Gough had apparently fallen blind after the dragon war. If that was the case, Tempest wondered how he should help them. Would he shoot arrows until he landed a lucky shot? Tempest shrugged and followed Ornstein, who already had passed him and was heading back to the coliseum.

Once they arrived at the coliseum and Ornstein entered it, the dragon slayer suddenly snatched Tempest and was holding a hand in front of his mouth, preventing him from the rather important act of breathing.

"Hnngh, Orn...stein..", he brought out, as he realized that the dragon slayer had trouble with his own breathing, muttering something like "Keep it together."

"Orn...", Tempest tried again and Ornstein aggressively shushed him, only to realize a second later how tight he had grabbed Tempest and let him fall to the ground, where the small Undead gasped for air.

"What was that about?!", Tempest yelled, both hands at his hips.

"Shhhh.", Ornstein shushed Tempest yet again and then pointed with this thumb into the coliseum. "Ciaran... she's in there..."

"The Lord's Blade?!", Tempest eyes lit up, not only Gough, but also Ciaran, he was going to meet even the last of the legendary knights, but then his gaze darkened as he realized just why Ornstein was so nervous. "Oh... I am sorry.", he said, scraping the ground with his foot. Ciaran wasn't there anymore in their own time. Thinking about it, Gough also wasn't there anymore. Tempest wondered how Ornstein was feeling, not only after having to see Artorias die, but then having to see both of his old friend and companion, that had died too, again. He just wondered why Ornstein was so much more nervous about Ciaran than Gough.

"...I can't go in there.", Ornstein said. "Like I said, I shouldn't be here right now. My... past self stayed behind in Anor Londo. Ciaran went after Artorias on her own free will, but alas, she had been too late."

"...Do you want me to go talk to her, Ornstein?", Tempest asked.

The dragon slayer stared at Tempest for a while before slowly nodding and then adding in a quiet voice: "...I am sure she would like to have his soul."

Tempest nodded and turned around to retrieve the soul from his darksign. Once he had it, cradled in both of his hands, Ornstein nodded ah him. Tempest didn't move from the spot and then slowly spoke: "...Ornstein. Do you want me to say something to her?"

Ornstein stayed silent for a moment, in fact, so long that Tempest almost entered the coliseum, thinking that Ornstein would never speak, but then he heard the dragon slayer's voice, speaking in a feeblish tone: "Please tell her, I am sorry..."

Tempest nodded and entered the coliseum. Hadn't Artorias said a similar thing? Tempest wondered more and more, what Ciaran was for a person and what she meant to both Ornstein and Artorias. Upon looking around, he soon spotted the hornet, looking just as in the tales he had heard and just as on the wooden board Ornstein had drawn her on, with the bluish leather armour and the long braided ponytail. He couldn't see her face, because she was currently kneeling in front of what looked like a make shift grave, but Tempest knew that she was wearing a mask anyway.

Tempest slowly approached her, looking down at the soul. It wasn't like he wanted these things, they just flocked to him, to his darksign and because it was feeling nice when it was filled with souls, he usually left them there. Tempest didn't really had any idea what to do with them other than crushing them, but he felt like he wouldn't respect the foes he had fought if he would do this. It was a lot different as with the souls of the nameless corpses he found littered through Lordran, that ones were just leftovers from a failure, not someone he had beaten in a fight to the death. Even though his death would never be final.

Once Tempest stood behind Ciaran, he cleared his throat and prompted the lord's blade to turn around. Like expected, she had her mask on and it was impossible to see what she felt, just like with Ornstein and his helmet, but when she spoke, Tempest could hear the pain in her voice.

"…You, is that not…", she spoke. "The soul of the man who fell on this spot?" She hesitated for a second before speaking again. "He was a dear friend. I wish to pay proper respect, with that soul. Would you be willing to part with it?"

For some reason, Tempest was at a loss for words and simply nodded his head, handing the soul to Ciaran.

Ciaran spoke again, this time her voice took on a softer tone: "Thank you. You are very kind. Please take this. I no longer need it. May the Lord guide thee."

When Tempest looked down at his hands, he saw that Ciaran had shoved both of her blades into his hands, when he remembered, they were called Gold Tracer and Silver Tracer. He frowned at them, why was she giving him her weapons?

"Um...", he finally spoke. "Are you sure about this? Aren't this your weapons? Can you be a knight without them?"

Ciaran raised her head and looked at him. "There is no need for me anymore to be a knight.", she said. "Surely you have other business to attend to instead of disturbing me in my grief."

"Oh, yes...", Tempest said, looking down, feeling awful for not having considered how she must have felt. She had just lost a dear friend and that after he had seen how Ornstein had reacted to it. He blamed it that he had expected for her to be more talkative. "I should go then...", he said, but then remembered Ornstein's words: "Oh, just one thing. I shall deliver a message for you." He took a deep breath and then whispered: "Ornstein and Artorias both apologize to you."

Ciaran jerked her head around, staring at Tempest, but the small Undead had already running away, returning to Ornstein.

"Well.", Tempest said. "I could give her the soul and your words, but I don't have the feeling she wanted to talk to me." Tempest looked down at his hands and remembered that he was still carrying her weapons. "She gave me those. I don't think I could use them. Do you want them, Ornstein?"

"...So she had decided to leave as soon as Artorias had fallen...", Ornstein said and took the weapons from Tempest's hands. "Her decision shocked me back then... I was expecting for her to come back to Anor Londo with me. I would have needed her, but at the same time, Ciaran would have needed me." Ornstein traced along the weapons with his thumb, Tempest was glad that he was wearing thick metal gauntlets, because otherwise that probably would have meant death.

"Ornstein?", Tempest asked, fidgeting with his fingers. "Do you need a moment?"

Ornstein stopped tracing the weapons to look at Tempest and then said: "Yes, little Storm. Let us sit outside of the coliseum for a while."

The both of them sat down in the room with the elevator and Ornstein leaned against the wall, a deep sigh escaping his throat. "This place is opening all my old wounds.", he murmured.

"Ornstein, may I ask what happened to Ciaran in our time?", Tempest asked, knowing that he maybe shouldn't push Ornstein so much, but he was also curious why Ornstein felt the need to apologize to her.

"I haven't seen her sadness.", Ornstein simply said. "I have been a bad friend to her, but seeing what happened to Artorias, it seems like we can't change the past, we are simply forced to see it all played out like intended. ...We probably have been here the first time it happened. In a sense, all what is happening is happening now and we are a part of it."

"Ouch, Ornstein, you are making my head hurt.", Tempest said, leaning against the other wall of the room, deciding to drop the topic about what had happened to Ciaran, clearly Ornstein blamed himself for it. Tempest could ask him when Ornstein wasn't forced working through the wounds of his past.

After a good while, which was spend in silence, well, Ornstein spend it in silence, Tempest tried to convince him to drink some water and eat some jerky, which Ornstein denied, they got up and went back to the coliseum. Upon looking into it, Tempest saw that Ciaran wasn't there anymore and so the both of them entered it. Ornstein straight went to the grave of Artorias and took in a prayer stance. Tempest followed him and also gave his respects, seeing the corpse of Artorias from the corner of his eyes. As his eyes went back to the grave, he saw a white flower and what looked suspiciously like the tassel of Artorias' helmet.

Ornstein rose without saying a word and then went to the other end of the coliseum, climbing a long flight of stairs, which made Tempest pant once they finally were on top, and then stopping in front of an iron door. He took a deep breath and reached for the handle only to see that it was locked.

"Damn.", Ornstein said. "And no key in sight."

"Can't you just break it down?", Tempest asked, but Ornstein shook his head.

"If Gough has let this door locked, it has a reason. I don't want to go against his wishes by destroying the door, so that everyone can come and go as they please. The door was unlocked when I went here back then, after Ciaran had send me a message, so let's move on. The key must be hidden somewhere around here."

"When I was able to find it, it can't be hidden that badly.", Tempest grinned and the both of them left the coliseum, stopping at a bonfire which Tempest lighted and then used to strengthen his soul power. Ornstein in the meantime was staring down a warbled mess of what once must have been a town.

"The Oolacile township.", he said. "It has been so long since I had been here last, but I still remember its dangers and perils. Little Storm, follow my lead this time around. And keep out an eye for that key. Naturally, when my past self got here, the whole place had already been looted."

Tempest joined Ornstein and nodded, letting his gaze wander across the area that led downwards, trying not to appear to nervous. They were going to fight a dragon and an abyss beast, what could be the worst that could happen? He took his sword in both hands, gave Ornstein another nod and then the both of them stepped into hostile territory.

(Author's note: I know this chapter is a bit filler, but when I would have added the township, it would have gotten far too long and crowded, so I decided to put it into the next chapter. Wish me luck, because I will attempt Kalameet with midroll.

As always, I want to talk to you guys, so please talk to me in the comments.)


End file.
